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A  gric .  -  Forestry .  Main  Library 


AT  MAY  BE  LEARNED 


A    TREE. 


HAKLAND  COULTAS, 
/  / 

AITTHOK  ov  "ORGANIC  LIFE  THE  SAME  IN  ANIMALS  AS  IN  PLANTS,''  ETC.,  ETC. 


1  Sweet  are  the  uses  of  adversity, 
"Which,  like  the  toad,  ugly  and  venomous, 
Wears  yet  a  precious  jewel  in  his  head; 
And  this  our  life,  exempt  from  public  haunt, 
Finds  tongues  in  trees,  books  in  the  running  brooks, 
Sermons  in  stones,  and  good  in  everything." 

SIIAKSPEAEB. 


HEW   YORK: 
I),    APPLETON    &    COMPANY, 

443   &  445   BEOADWAT. 
1863. 


*r\ 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1959, 

BY   HABLAXD    COULTAS, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  lh  •¥•!»•  District  of  Peooayl 


Agric.-Forestry.  Main  Library 


RESPECTFULLY    DEDICATED 


TO 


ALL  LOVERS  AND  FKIENDS  OF  NATURE. 


39345:2 


PREFACE  TO  THE  SECOND  EDITION. 


IT  was  originally  my  intention  to  have  published  my 
Tree  in  eight  parts,  and  to  have  brought  them  out  in  suc- 
cession, as  rapidly  as  possible  ;  but  I  have  decided,  for  the 
present,  to  stop  at  Part  IV.  A  much  larger  subscription 
than  I  have  yet  obtained  is  necessary  to  anable  me  to  carry 
out  my  original  project.  Trees  will  not  grow  without  sap 
or  sunlight,  and  if  mine  is,  at  present,  only  a  mere  shrub, 
and  has  not  advanced  to  the  condition  of  a  California 
Sequoia,  it  is  because  I  require  more  time  and  means. 

Do  not  suppose,  reader,  that  I  am  at  all  discouraged,  or 
that  I  have  the  slightest  intention  to  give  up  the  work ; 
but  the  present  delay  is  absolutely  requisite  in  order  that 
I  may  be  able  to  meet  the  expenses  which  I  have  incurred 
in  its  publication.  An  author  who  appears  before  the 
world  in  the  character  of  a  moralist,  and  a  lover  of  Nature, 
must  endeavor  to  live  a  pure  and  blameless  life,  and  be 
upright  and  honorable  in  all  business  transactions. 

No  work  which  the  press  has  received  from  my  pen  has 
been  so  much  encouraged  as  the  present  one,  and  to  my 
numerous  kind  friends  and  patrons  I  return  my  sincere 
thanks.  The  present  edition  is  printed  on  much  better 
paper,  and  is  in  every  respect  a  decided  improvement  on 
the  former  one. 

The  question  is  simply  this :  "  Will  this  book  do  me 
any  good  ?"  "  Is  it  worth  its  price  ?"  Gentlemen  are  re- 
spectfully requested  to  read  and  judge  for  themselves.  As 
the  author  of  the  book,  I  wish  it  to  stand  entirely  on  its 
own  merits.  I  wish  no  man  to  buy  my  book  unless  he 
thinks  its  perusal  will  do  him  good. 

The  biography  of  a  tree,  or  of  a  flower,  is  to  my  mind 
an  illustration  of  human  life,  every  stage  of  which  is 


VI  PREFACE. 

interesting  when  life  is  properly  conducted.  There  is  the 
beauty  and  innocence  of  childhood  ;  the  enthusiasm  and 
buoyancy  of  youth ;  the  energy  and  strength  of  manhood, 
and  the  ripened  wisdom  and  experience  of  age.  Our 
vitality  declines  now  almost  imperceptibly,  and,  finally, 
man  passes  away  like  a  leaf,  a  flower,  a  tree. 

These  influences  affect  not  only  the  works  of  Nature, 
but  those  of  man.  We  may  retard  the  operation  of  the 
laws  of  decay,  but  we  cannot  suspend  them.  The  most 
enduring  monuments,  once  resplendent  with  the  glory  of 
the  genius  of  man  ;  his  palaces  and  pyramids,  or  the  lofty 
column  which  tells  of  the  struggles  of  the  past  to  future 
generations,  may,  for  ages,  defy  the  stroke  of  the  lightning 
and  the  storms  of  the  atmosphere,  but  they  shall  be  con- 
quered by  its  quiet  and  imperceptible  influences ;  by  its 
gently  descending  dews,  and  the  disintegrating  power  of 
its  oxygen,  as  time  rolls  onward.  Their  beauty  and  strength 
shall  disappear,  and  other  generations  shall  look  thought- 
fully on  their  ruins,  and  the  lowly  moss  and  lichen  shall 
feed  on  their  broken  and  dissevered  fragments. 

Life  is  short,  and  we  must  make  the  most  of  it ;  it  is  a 
warfare,  and  we  must  nerve  ourselves  for  the  conflict. 
How  many  spend  it  miserably  in  the  vain  pursuit  of  riches ! 
Is  this  wise  ?  It  is  our  duty  to  obtain  a  competency,  and 
prepare,  if  possible,  a  beautiful  home  for  our  family  which 
they  can  call  their  own  when  we  are  gone  ;  but  the  most 
valuable  wealth  that  we  can  leave  them,  is  a  spirit  of  self- 
dependence  and  good  principles.  For  uprightness  of  con- 
duct is  so  noble  and  beautiful  a  feature,  that  it  invariably 
makes  a  man  friends  and  leads  to  inevitable  success  in  the 
pursuits  of  life. 

The  few  hints  given  in  this  volume  as  to  the  study  of 
Nature,  and  how  to  spend  life  happily,  will  not,  I  hope,  be 
lost  on  some  of  my  readers,  who  will  gratefully  remember 
me  for  the  good  I  have  done  them,  when  I  shall  have  long 
passed  away  from  this  fleeting  evanescent  scene. 

HABLAND  COULTAS. 

STOREY  STREET,  MANTUA  YILLE, 
February  12th,  1860. 


CONTENTS. 


Introduction, i* 

CHAPTER  I. 

The  building-up  of  the  Tree-form  out  of  its  unit ;  or,  the  Life  of  the 
Tree  traced  throughout  its  vegetative  period  from  infancy  to  puberty,  13 

CHAPTER  II. 

The  History  of  the  development  of  Trees  may  be  advantageously 
studied  by  a  careful  examination  of  the  marks  left  by  Nature  on 
their  young  branches — The  growths  made  by  the  Tree  during  the 
former  years  of  its  life,  having  been  there  accurately  recorded,  .  26 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  inner  organization  of  Trees ;  or  a  description  of  the  Anatomy  and 
Physiology  of  the  different  species  of  Cells  which  enter  into  the 
composition  of  their  tissues, 37 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Tree  is  constructed  on  the  principle  of  a  cone — Its  leaves  are  the 
sources  whence  proceed  the  formative  material  used  in  the  building- 
up  of  its  Stem  and  Branches,  which  is  distributed  amongst  them 
after  a  common  law, 57 

CHAPTER  V. 

Those  natural  Causes  which  produce  the  inequality  in  the  Develop- 
ment of  the  Branches  and  Buds  of  a  Tree,  illustrate  clearly  the  laws 
of  social  inequality  and  subordination  in  civilized  communities,  .  67 

CHAPTER  VI. 

The  rhythms  or  oscillations  of  Growth  in  the  Development  of  Trees 
are  durably  impressed  on  their  Organism,  and  the  Organization  of 
Man  is  equally  as  susceptible  of  receiving  and  retaining  impression? 
from  without, 91 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

PAGE 

The  Leaf,  with  the  entire  edge,  is  alone  to  be  regarded  as  a  simple 
Leaf — The  Leaf  takes  a  higher  form  of  Organization,  and  becomes 
compound  in  proportion  to  the  Development  of  the  fibrous  portion 
of  its  Lamina — All  the  irregularities  of  its  margin,  such  as  Lobes, 
Teeth,  Crenatures,  Serratures,  result  from  an  effort  at  new  leaflet- 
formation  arrested  in  its  first  stages, 107 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

A  sketch  of  the  History  of  Creation  as  recorded  in  the  strata  of  the 
Earth,  showing  that  the  Trees  which  now  cover  its  surface  were  not 
all  created  at  the  same  time,  but  were  introduced  as  the  Earth  be- 
came fitted  for  their  reception — Trees  were  created  in  succession — 
Those  of  a  low  type  of  Organization  are  the  most  ancient  inhabi- 
tants of  the  Globe — The  more  highly  organized  Trees  have  been  in- 
troduced at  a,  comparatively  speaking,  modern  Geological  epoch,  .  131 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Change  which  takes  place  in  the  constitution  of  Trees  at  the  period  of 
puberty — Organic  Metamorphosis  of  their  Leaves  into  Flowers  and 
Fruit,  and  relative  physiological  rank  of  the  Floral  organs,  .  .152 

CHAPTER  X. 

Contains  a  Description  of  Trees  remarkable  for  their  gigantic  growth 
and  great  age}  found  in  different  parts  of  the  World,  .  .  .169 

CHAPTER  XL 

The  Woods  take  the  first  rank  in  the  communities  of  the  Vegetable 
Kingdom — Reciprocity  of  action  amongst  Plants — A  cool  Atmo- 
sphere produced  by  Woods — Their  removal  is  followed  by  a  warmer, 
drier  Climate,  and  is  beneficial  in  some  cases— Woods  on  Mountains 
must  not  be  cut  down — Pernicious  results  of  their  removal  in  Italy — 
Woods  useful  along  the  Sea-shore,  where  the  coast  is  low  and  sandy 
— Concluding  remarks,  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .176 

CHAPTER  XII. 

The  Death  of  the  Tree  is  founded  on  an  inner  law  of  its  organism, 
and  is  not  the  result  of  accidental  causes, 185 


INTRODUCTION. 


CHANGE  is  the  soul  of  nature.  Stars  appear  and  disap- 
pear, and  new  ones  come  in  their  stead.  The  day  gives 
its  place  to  the  night,  and  the  night  to  the  day.  The 
moon  is  ever  changing  her  aspect  as  she  moves  round  the 
earth.  Spring,  summer,  autumn,  and  winter  follow  each 
other  in  succession,  and  with  this  gradual  change  of  the 
seasons,  the  earth  is  continually  changing  its  plant-cover- 
ing. Nature  is  ever  moving  onward,  and  mutability 
marks  all  these  forward  movements.  The  vegetable 
world  is  ever  adapting  itself  to  the  ever-varying  condi- 
tions of  moisture,  heat,  and  light,  which  mark  the  days 
and  years  of  the  earth's  pilgrimage.  One  flower,  for  ex- 
ample, is  seen  to  open  as  soon  as  the  first  rays  of  morning 
tremble  on  the  horizon,  another  in  the  morning  sun,  a 
third  at  mid-day,  a  fourth  in  the  evening,  and  a  fifth  at 
midnight.  The  animal  world,  too,  strikes  as  it  were  the 
hours.  Scarcely  do  the  dew-drops  glitter  in  the  beams  of 
the  advancing  sun,  than  the  earth-worms  come  to  the 
surface  to  enjoy  themselves,  the  birds  commence  their 
song,  the  sun  rises  higher  and  the  woods  reverberate  with 
their  ever-varied  melodies.  But  the  sun  sinks  in  the  west 
and  night  hides  from  our  view  the  glory  and  beauty  of 
nature ;  and  the  nightingale  warbles,  the  owl  screams,  the 
bat  flies  abroad,  and  an  innumerable  variety  of  beautiful 
moths  sport  themselves  in  the  gloom.  So  appear  and  dis- 


10  INTRODUCTION. 

appear  successive  generations  of  plants,  animals,  and 
men. 

We  have  felt,  for  many  years,  interested  in  the  plant- 
world,  that  beautiful  and  ever-variegated  carpet  with 
which  Nature  has  overspread  the  earth,  and  which  is  ever 
changing  its  character  as  the  seasons  roll  on.  We  have 
also  printed  several  elementary  works  on  Botany,  and 
this  time  have  chosen  for  our  subject,  a  Tree  ;  because  it 
is  a  picture  of  the  whole  of  Nature,  and  of  the  way  in 
which  Nature  works. 

It  is  quite  evident  that  each  part  of  a  tree,  whether  it  be 
leaf-scale,  or  leaf,  sepal  or  petal,  has  its  place  assigned 
and  task  allotted  in  the  construction  of  its  organism; 
and  that  there  is  a  system  of  mutual  dependency  and 
subordination  which  pervades  all  the  parts  of  the  tree 
from  the  cell  upwards.  Now  this  variety,  and  at  the 
same  time  unity  of  organic  action,  so  apparent  in  all  the 
life-phenomena  of  a  tree,  and  in  all  the  mutations  of  its 
form  is  exceedingly  instructive,  for  it  throws  light  not  only 
on  the  natural  laws  which  govern  society,  but  on  the  whole 
of  organized  Nature. 

Nature  is  a  mechanism  whose  parts  are  intimately  as- 
sociated with  each  other.  The  forest  leaf,  for  example, 
has  infinite  connections  not  only  with  the  tree  which  it 
helps  to  build,  but  with  the  atmosphere  which  it  oxyge- 
nates, and  with  the  raindrop  which  it  absorbs  and  decom- 
poses. And  it  is  the  same  with  every  insect,  moss,  and 
mountain  floweret.  Each  has  its  place  assigned  in  the 
organism  of  the  universe,  and  its  allotted  labors  to  per- 
form. All  take  their  part  in  effecting  those  grand 
changes  now  taking  place  in  nature ;  and  which  are  un- 
doubtedly conducted  on  a  plan  devised  by  infinite  intelli- 
gence and  wisdom,  and  therefore  perfect  in  all  its  parts, 
harmonious  in  all  its  arrangements. 

In  like  manner  that  part  of  Nature  called  civilized  so- 
ciety, notwithstanding  all  the  evils  with  which  it  is  neces- 
sarily accompanied,  is  equally  a  mechanism,  and  governed 
by  natural  law.  It  is  my  design  in  this  work  to  try  to 


INTRODUCTION.  11 

exhibit  this  fact  in  its  true  light.  Men  have  formed  their 
Utopia.  They  have  closed  their  eyes  on  the  existence  of 
natural  evil ;  they  have  denied  that  it  is  an  inevitable  ne- 
cessity, and  inseparable  from  the  present  condition  of 
things ;  they  have  sought  to  make  the  world  otherwise 
than  God  has  made  it.  They  have  promulgated  erro- 
neous schemes  of  philanthropy,  which,  having  no  foun- 
dation whatever,  either  in  truth  or  reason,  can  never  do 
otherwise  than  mislead  and  betray.  They  would  over- 
turn the  granite  foundations  of  the  present  social  fabric. 
Vain  and  futile  attempt ! 

It  is  time  that  we  looked  these  evils  fairly  in  the  face. 
It  is  time  that  we  admitted  their  existence  as  an  inevitable 
necessity,  as  part  of  the  discipline  of  life ;  that  we  re- 
garded those  grand  compensatory  forces  which  are  ever 
at  work  in  the  realms  of  Nature,  and  by  means  of  which 
these  conflicting  elements  are  made  to  harmonize,  and  a 
just  equilibrium  brought  about  in  the  scale  of  human 
happiness.  When  will  man  learn  wisdom  and  truth 
from  the  teachings  of  Nature  ?  "When  will  he  open  his 
eyes  to  those  important  practical  lessons  which  may  be 
learned  from  the  commonest  object  ?  It  is  my  inten- 
tion, in  this  book,  to  show  "  What  may  be  learned  from 
a  Tree." 

We  are  about  to  write  its  life-history.  We  shall  trace  it 
from  the  first  manifestations  of  vitality  in  the  germinating 
seed  until  the  period  of  puberty,  when  it  puts  forth  flowers, 
and  fruit.  We  shall  consider  its  phenomena  after  it  has 
passed  its  prime,  and  show  that  it  has  its  appointed  limits  in 
consequence  of  the  same  physiological  law  which  governs 
the  development  of  its  organism,  equally  with  that  of  the 
lowly  plant  which  grows  beneath  its  shade.  We  shall  show 
that  the  tree  may  be  regarded  as  a  vast  community  of  phy- 
tons,  or  plants,  which  co-operate  in  its  construction  and  are 
mutually  dependent  on  and  subservient  to  each  other  We 
shall  prove  the  individuality  of  these  phytons  which  devel- 
ope  about  the  axophyte  or  stem  of  the  tree  and  its  ramifica- 
tions or  branches,  by  their  difference  of  form  and  function, 


12  INTRODUCTION. 

and  also  by  those  separate  periods  of  time  at  which  they 
arrive  at  a  state  of  maturity  and  decay.  We  shall  show 
that  the  amount  of  work  done  by  these  phytons,  in  their 
individual  and  collective  capacity,  constitutes  the  growth 
of  each  year,  and  has  been  recorded  in  the  wood  of  its  stem 
and  on  the  outer  surface  of  its  bark.  But  all  the  parts  of 
organic  nature  are  so  intimately  connected  with  each  other, 
that  the  careful  study  of  any  one  part  necessarily  leads  as 
a  reward  to  correct  ideas  respecting  the  whole.  This  is 
particularly  the  case  with  the  tree,  which  is  a  microcosm, 
or  little  world,  beautifully  illustrative  of  those  unchanging 
laws  of  individual  and  social  development  which  lie  at  the 
foundation  of  the  present  social  system. 

My  own  experience  has  taught  me  that  a  work  of  this 
nature  is  likely  to  be  very  useful.  It  is  emphatically 
written  for  the  people — for  those  who  feel  life  to  be  one 
continued  struggle  for  existence.  Many  of  the  truths 
which  will  be  illustrated  are  stern  and  incontrovertible 
realities,  confirmed  by  the  daily  and  hourly  experience  of 
life.  Of  all  the  author's  botanical  works,  this  is  perhaps 
the  only  one  that  will  survive  him.  One  thing  is  certain, 
that  it  will  be  more  generally  understood.  The  reader  of 
only  ordinary  education  and  intellectual  power  may  readily 
comprehend  the  principles  inculcated  in  this  book,  and 
see  their  applicability  as  guiding  rules  for  the  judicious 
and  happy  management  of  each  day's  duties.  Reader, 
whoever  you  are,  may  this  book  prove  to  you  a  friend, 
may  you  be  induced  by  its  pages  to  look  on  the  Tree  with 
a  new  interest ;  and  obtaining  from  its  noble  form  a  clear 
and  truthful  view  of  your  own  position  and  duty  in  life, 
become  by  the  perusal  of  this  volume,  a  wiser  man  and  a 
better  citizen. 


CHAPTER   I. 

THE  BUILDING  UP  OF  THE  TREE-FORM  OUT  OF  ITS  UNIT;  OR,  THE 
LIFE  OF  THE  TREE  TRACED  THROUGHOUT  ITS  VEGETATIVE  PERIOD 
—FROM  INFANCY  TO  PUBERTY. 

A  TREE  is  indisputably  the  most  highly-developed  form 
which  vegetable  life  assumes.  In  the  appearance  of  one 
that  has  stood  for  centuries,  there  is  something  noble  and 
majestic.  When  we  look  at  its  now  massive  stem  and  far- 
extended  branches,  and  then  call  to  mind  its  smallness  and 
feebleness  at  the  commencement  of  its  life ;  when  we  re- 
member that  this  great  tree  was  once  so  small  as  to  be  in- 
closed within  a  little  seed,  and  that  the  tons  of  solid  timber 
which  it  contains  have  been  all  drawn  by  that  seed  from 
the  earth  and  atmosphere,  we  cannot  but  feel  that  we  have 
before  us  a  most  impressive  proof  of  the  operations  of  the 
attractive  forces.  What  an  immense  amount  of  vitally 
organized  material  has  been  here  gathered  together !  It 
is  God's  own  architecture  !  This  mass  of  vegetable  matter 
is  only  earth  and  air  which  has  undergone  transmutation ! 
The  material  alike  of  wandering  zephyrs  and  rushing 
storms,  of  gently  descending  night-dews  and  angry  thun- 
der-showers, has  been  here,  on  this  spot,  metamorphosed ! 

Yet  we  pass  these  great  and  wonderful  works  of  Provi- 
dence every  day  of  our  lives  without  a  thought.  The 
gradual  and  silent  building-up  of  a  tree  excites  no  curiosity, 
conveys  no  moral  lesson.  What  may  be  learned  from  a 
tree  ?  Clear  and  comprehensive  views  of  the  organization 
and  laws  which  govern  the  civilized  world !  Rules  of  con- 
duct which  lie  at  the  foundation  of  all  success  in  business, 
all  progress  in  the  pathway  to  pre-eminence.  It  is  the  aim 


14  THE   BUILDING   UP   OF  THE 

of  this  book  to  establish  this  fact  by  a  direct  appeal  to 
nature  and  experience.  And  first  of  all  we  will  give  a 
brief  sketch  of  the  life-history  of  a  tree  from  infancy  to 
puberty,  or  from  the  commencement  of  germination  till 
the  period  when  the  tree  reaches  its  maximum  height,  and 
puts  forth  its  flowers  and  fruit.  By  so  doing,  we  shall  be 
able  to  show  the  principles  on  which  trees  are  constructed, 
and  the  reader  will  form  for  himself  a  correct  idea  or  in- 
tellectual picture  of  a  tree.  As  this  is  all-important  to  a 
thorough  understanding  of  the  principles  inculcated  in 
this  book,  we  earnestly  request  that  the  purely  botanical 
portion  of  it  may  have  a  most  careful  and  attentive  peru- 
sal. 

The  First  Tear's  Growth. — If  we  plant  a  beech-nut  in  a 
suitable  soil,  when  spring  and  warm  weather  come  it  will 
begin  to  germinate.  It  first  attracts  the  moisture  of  the 
soil  itself.  This  produces  the  softening  and  swelling  of 
the  tough  covering  of  the  nut,  which  is  finally  ruptured 
by  the  growth  of  the  embryo  or  infant  beech-tree  in  its 
interior,  which  sends  downward,  through  the  lacerated  in- 
tegument or  seed-cover,  a  young  rootlet,  and  upwards  a 
young  stem,  to  which  are  attached  the  first  pair  of  leaves. 
These  leaves,  which  are  thick  and  fleshy,  and  constituted 
the  great  bulk  of  the  seed,  are  in  reality  the  nursing-leaves 
of  the  young  embryo.  Lifted  above  the  ground  and  ex- 
posed to  the  light  of  the  sun,  they  speedily  expand,  take 
a  leaflike  texture  and  hue,  and  become  so  much  enlarged 
that  they  present  quite  a  different  appearance  to  that 
which  they  exhibited  when  they  were  folded  together  and 
enveloped  by  the  seed-skin. 

I  call  them  nursing-leaves  (folia  nutrientia\  because 
these  words  convey  a  more  correct  idea  of  the  services  which 
they  render  the  plant,  and  are  therefore  better  than  the 
word  cotyledons,  or  seed-leaves,  terms  employed  by  other 
writers.  These  nursing-leaves  are  only  temporary  appen- 
dages of  the  axis  or  stem,  and  perform  a  distinct  and  sepa- 
rate duty  in  connection  with  the  building-up  of  the  tree. 


TREE  FORM   OUT   OF  ITS   UNIT.  15 

They  contain  a  store  of  starch,  provisions  elaborated  by 
the  plant  which  produced  the  seed.  On  this  store  of  starch 
the  young  embryo  or  infant  beech,  with  its  little  root  and 
stem,  bearing  toward  its  summit  the  first  phyton,  or  true 
aerial  leaf,  is  wholly  parasitic  until  it  is  sufficiently  grown 
to  draw  a  sufficient  amount  of  sustenance  from  the  earth 
and  atmosphere,  and  can  do  without  the  nursing-leaves. 

The  polar  opposition  between  root  and  stem,  which  is 
among  the  first  indications  of  the  commencement  of  active 
vitality  in  the  young  embryo,  is  wholly  inexplicable,  and 
continues  throughout  the  entire  life  of  the  tree.  During  the 
first  stages  of  its  life,  oxygen  is  absorbed  from  the  air  by  the 
nursing-leaves  of  the  growing  embryo,  and  through  its  in- 
fluence the  starch  contained  in  them  is  transmuted  into  a 
soluble  sugary  gum  called  dextrine,  which  is  conveyed,  by 
the  water  absorbed  during  the  germination,  to  the  young 
rootlet  and  to  the  gemmule,  and  also  to  the  first  true 
aerial  leaf,  or  phyton.  Thus  nourished,  this  leaf  speedily 
expands,  takes  the  form  peculiar  to  the  plant,  and  remains 
permanently  attached  to  them  till  the  close  of  the  grow- 
ing season.  It  is  otherwise  with  the  nursing-leaves  :  for 
having  yielded  up  their  store  of  nutrient  material  to  the 
first  true  aerial  leaf,  and  given  it  the  necessary  degree  of 
strength  to  enable  it  to  support  itself,  they  become  gradu- 
ally atrophied,  or  waste  away  and  shrivel  up,  and  we  see 
them  finally  fall  from  the  stem.  With  the  full  develop- 
ment of  the  first  true  aerial  leaf,  and  the  atrophy  and  ulti- 
mate fall  of  the  nursing-leaves,  the  first  stage  of  vegetative 
life  is  closed. 

We  have  now  a  simple  individual  plant,  or  vegetable 
unit,  consisting  of  root,  stem,  and  leaf,  having  subterranean 
and  aerial  organs  beautifully  adapted  to  its  nutrition ;  it  is, 
therefore,  perfect  in  all  its  parts.  And  now,  the  fully-de- 
veloped tree,  with  its  massive  stem,  branches,  and  roots, 
its  noble  canopy  of  foliage  and  fiowers,  stands  before  us  in 
its  simplest  form.  For  the  first  true  aerial  leaf  is  the 
foundation  of  the  vegetable  fabric,  the  parent  of  those 


16  THE   BUILDING   UP   OF  THE 

countless  numbers  of  leaves  which  are  developed  through 
succeeding  years,  and  by  whose  united  labors  a  goodly 
tree  is  at  last  constructed,  capable  of  withstanding  the 
storms  of  the  atmosphere,  as  the  submarine  structures 
reared  by  the  coral  insect  resist  the  surges  of  the  ocean. 

It  is  therefore  important  to  study  carefully  the  organi- 
zation and  life-processes  of  the  first  true  aerial  leaf,  or 
vegetable  unit ;  for  as  its  simple  repetition  constitutes  the 
growth  of  the  first  year — which  again  must  be  regarded  as 
a  vegetable  unit  of  a  somewhat  higher,  more  complex  cha- 
racter, by  simple  repetition  of  which  the  entire  tree  itself 
is  ultimately  produced ;  so  it  is  plain  that  a  thorough  know- 
ledge of  the  physiology  and  organization  of  this  first  true 
aerial  leaf  must  furnish  a  key  not  only  to  the  growth  of 
the  first  year,  but  of  succeeding  years,  of  which  the  tree  is 
the  solid  and  enduring  monument. 

Nothing  is  apparently  more  insignificant  and  feeble  than 
our  beech-tree  at  this  period  of  its  life.  Look  at  the  young, 
delicate  leaf  and  stem  of  the  phyton,  or  first  plant,  which 
does  not  even  raise  above  the  green  blades  of  grass  by 
which  it  is  surrounded,  thrown  as  it  were  on  the  charity 
of  Nature  !  It  has  lost  its  nursing-leaves  and  is  left  to  pro- 
vide for  itself,  surrounded  by  innumerable  dangers.  It  is 
at  first  a  struggle  for  life  against  fearful  odds.  It  may  be 
eaten  by  cattle,  or  be  crushed  by  a  careless  footstep ;  want 
of  rain  or  too  much  moisture  in  the  soil,  excessively  hot  or 
severely  cold  weather,  may  permanently  injure  its  structure 
and  bring  its  life  to  an  early  and  premature  close. 

But  if  the  seed  was  planted  in  a  good  soil,  and  the  con- 
ditions continue  favorable,  an  impulsive  energy  will  very 
soon  be  called  forth  which  shall  carry  it  over  every  obstacle. 
Yea,  verily,  it  shall  extract  nutriment  from  the  very  tem- 
pest which  would  hurl  it  to  destruction,  and  render  its 
enemy  subservient  to  the  advancement  of  its  upward  and 
onward  progress. 

See  how  beautifully  Providence  has  adapted  the  organi- 
zation of  the  two  extremities  of  the  phyton,  or  first  plant, 


TREE-FORM   OUT   OF  ITS   UNIT.  17 

to  the  earth  and  atmosphere,  the  two  sources  from  whence  it 
must  for  the  future  draw  its  supplies  of  food.  Its  little  root 
descends  into  the  soil,  and  puts  forth  from  its  surface  a 
number  of  fine,  white,  hairlike  fibres,  which  are  the  instru- 
ments by  means  of  which  the  plants  absorb  inwardly  the 
subterranean  nutrient  material  which  surrounds  them ;  its 
young  stem  ascends  into  the  air,  and  the  bark  and  fibre, 
which  are  arranged  cylindrically  in  separate  beds  or  layers 
in  the  stem,  are  spread  out  horizontally  towards  its  summit, 
in  the  form  of  a  flat  green  plate,  or  absorbent  surface, 
called  a  leaf. 

The  bark,  or  cellular  tissue  of  this  leaf  is  penetrated  by 
the  fibrous  portion  of  the  stem,  in  the  shape  of  veins  and 
veinlets,  which  communicate  freely  with  the  roots  in  the 
soil,  and  thus  act  as  conduits  of  the  sap  or  nutritive  mate- 
rial from  one  extremity  of  the  plant  to  the  other.  In  this 
manner  the  sap,  brought  from  all  parts  of  the  plant,  be- 
comes, as  it  were,  thoroughly  spread  out  and  aerated  in  the 
leaf.  To  facilitate  the  processes  of  evaporation  and  absorp- 
tion, the  leaf  is  provided  with  an  epidermis,  through  the 
pores  or  openings  of  which  the  superfluous  water  of  the  sap 
is  evaporated,  and  such  gases  absorbed  from  the  atmosphere 
as  are  nutritious  to  the  plant. 

Hence,  when  fully  developed,  this  leaf  aerates  the  sap 
much  more  perfectly  than  the  nursing-leaves ;  and  as  it  is 
a  true  aerial  leaf,  it  remains  permanently  attached  to  the 
stem  or  vegetable  axis  till  the  close  of  the  vegetative  sea- 
son. This  leaf  appears,  in  fact,  to  be  formed  in  reference 
to  the  atmosphere. 

If  we  examine  the  gemmule,  or  young  bud,  situated  just 
above  the  phyton,  or  first  leaf,  we  shall  find  that  the  first 
leaf  itself  is  now,  in  its  turn,  a  nursing-leaf,  and  the  parent 
of  a  numerous  progeny  of  already  partially-formed  follicles. 
These,  nourished  by  the  sap  elaborated  in  the  first  leaf,  soon 
individually  expand  and  separate  from  each  other,  little  in- 
tervals of  stem  being  formed  between  them.  They  now 
contribute  individually  to  each  other's  support :  the  lower 
leaves  aiding  in  the  development  of  those  that  are  above 

2 


18  THE   BUILDING   UP   OF   THE 

them,  and  contributing  also  to  the  growth  of  that  portion 
of  the  axis  or  stem  which  is  beneath  them,  and  to  the  in- 
crease of  the  number  of  the  rootlets  in  the  soil. 

Each  of  these  phytons  or  leaves  developes  also,  more  or 
less  perfectly,  its  own  gemmule  or  young  bud,  which,  un- 
doubtedly, corresponds  to  the  gemmule  or  bud  formed  by 
the  first  leaf,  the  unfolding  of  which  constitutes  the  growth 
of  the  first  season.  But  these  new  buds  never  come  to  any- 
thing the  first  year,  but  retain  their  rudimentary  condition 
through  the  winter  months,  and  appear  as  projecting  points 
on  the  outside  of  the  shoot,  after  the  leaves  which  formed 
them  have  dropped  from  the  stem.  The  gemmule  or  bud 
formed  by  the  first  leaf,  is  the  only  one  of  the  series  which 
developes  the  first  season. 

As  the  heat  and  light  of  the  sun  decrease,  the  vital  acti- 
vity of  the  phytons  or  leaves  diminishes,  and  the  intervals 
between  them  gradually  cease  to  form,  until  at  length  the 
elongation  of  the  axis  is  wholly  stopped.  About  this  time 
the  current  of  sap  is  diverted  away  from  the  leaves  to  the 
buds  forming  at  the  bottom  of  each  leaf-stalk,  and  especial- 
ly to  the  terminal  bud  which  grows  at  the  top  of  the  shoot. 
This  attraction  of  the  sap  or  formative  material  away  from 
the  leaves  by  the  newly- forming  tissues  of  the  buds,  is  un- 
doubtedly one  of  the  principal  causes  which  produce  their 
decay  and  separation  from  the  shoot.  When  the  leaves 
begin  to  change  their  color  (the  sure  presage  of  their  ap- 
proaching fall),  it  is  therefore  an  infallible  indication  that 
the  sap  is  being  diverted  away  from  them  to  the  buds, 
which  have  begun  to  grow,  and  that  the  shoot  constructed 
by  their  united  labors  is  about  to  be  prepared  for  winter. 

This  preparation  of  the  shoot  for  winter  is  eifected  by 
the  development  of  another  set  of  leaves,  which  other 
writers  call  bud-scales,  but  which  I  call  (folia  tegmentia) 
covering  or  protecting  leaves.  It  is  not  nutrition,  but  pro- 
tection which  is  required  by  the  shoot  during  winter,  and 
these  leaves  are  organized  expressly  for  this  very  purpose. 
They  contribute  nothing  whatever  to  the  support  of  the  plant, 
but  they  shield  it  from  the  inclemency  of  the  weather.  It  is 


TREE-FOKM   OUT   OF   ITS   UNIT.  19 

their  duty  to  preserve  from  injury  the  amount  of  work  already 
done.  A  beautiful  vegetable  cone  has  been  constructed  by 
the  leaf-labor  of  the  first  year,  and  it  is  left  in  their  charge. 

In  the  beech-tree,  the  bud-scales  or  covering  leaves 
acquire  a  somewhat  horny  texture.  They  are  without 
pores,  and  are,  in  botanical  language,  imbricated ;  that  is 
to  say,  they  cover  one  another  like  the  shingles  on  the  roof 
of  a  house.  Beneath  these  vegetable  roofs,  thus  admirably 
constructed,  the  young  branch  charged  with  all  the  nutri- 
tive leaves  of  the  next  vegetative  season  lies  imbedded  in 
a  warm  downy  investment. 

Thus,  even  the  defoliated  shoot  or  vegetable  cone  is  not 
without  its  attractions.  There  it  stands,  exposed  to  the 
fierce  north  wind,  coated  with  ice  from  top  to  bottom. 
It  matters  not  that  the  snow-covered  ground,  in  which  its 
roots  lie  imbedded,  is  frozen  as  hard  as  granite,  for  there 
are  the  protective  leaves,  or  bud-scales.  These  are  the  ap- 
pointed guardians  of  its  life,  and  well  do  they  perform  their 
office.  As  soon  as  spring  and  warm  weather  come,  do  we 
not  see  the  young  shoots  and  the  bright  green  leaves,  which 
they  have  covered  and  protected,  come  forth  uninjured  ? 
Exposure  to  the  air,  which  is  now  mild  and  pleasant,  will 
do  the  newly-developed  shoots  and  leaves  no  harm,  but  is 
a  positive  benefit.  The  services  of  the  covering  or  pro- 
tective leaves  of  winter  are  therefore  no  longer  required, 
and  we  see  them  fall,  one  by  one  from  the  stem.  Why  ? 
Because  they  have  fulfilled  the  purposes  of  Providence  in 
their  creation.  They  are,  therefore,  removed  from  the  post 
of  duty. 

The  Second  Year's  Growth. — With  the  gradual  increase  of 
light  and  heat  the  snow  and  ice  disappears,  the  ground  be- 
comes soft  and  friable,  the  air  mild  and  pleasant,  and  in  the 
grand  laboratory  of  organic  nature  all  is  again  ceaseless 
activity.  The  same  beautiful  yet  evanescent  floral  forms 
adorn  the  earth  ;  the  bright  green  grass,  the  leafy  verdure 
of  the  woods  charm  the  senses.  Our  vegetable  cone  with 
its  lateral  and  terminal  buds  feels  the  effect  of  the  genial 
influences  that  are  abroad,  and  soon  give  signs  of  a  renewed 


20  THE   BUILDING   UP   OP   THE 

vitality.  The  (folia  tegmentia)  covering-leaves  separate 
from  each  other,  and  the  new  generation  of  nutritive  leaves, 
sheltered  by  them  through  the  winter  months,  are  put 
forth  uninjured  into  the  atmosphere.  The  leaves  proceed- 
ing from  the  bud  at  the  summit  of  the  vegetable  cone, 
continue  the  growth  of  the  main  axis  or  stem,  whilst  those 
developed  from  the  lateral  buds  give  birth  to  branches.  If 
now  these  new  growths  be  carefully  examined,  it  will  be 
found  that  the  new  generation  of  leaves  has  constructed 
them*)n  precisely  the  same  plan  as  the  first  year's  shoot. 
For  these  branches,  and  the  addition  which  has  been  made 
to  the  stem  in  height,  consist  of  precisely  the  same  parts, 
viz. :  a  conical  axis  and  leaves  with  buds  in  their  axilla, 
and  a  terminal  bud  at  the  apex.  Each  new  axis  or  shoot 
which  has  been  superadded  to  the  first  year's  shoot,  must 
therefore  be  regarded  as  a  simple  repetition  of  the  first 
year's  shoot. 

It  is  also  plain  that  the  branches  are  to  the  main  axis  or 
stem,  the  second  year,  what  the  leaves  were  to  it  the  first 
year,  performing  precisely  the  same  functions,  only  in  a  far 
more  energetic  manner ;  because  in  this  case  it  is  not  one  but 
several  leaves  which  are  engaged  in  elaborating  the  sap, 
which,  when  duly  prepared  in  the  leaves,  passes  from  them 
into  the  main  axis  or  stem  of  the  tree  through  the  common 
axis  of  the  shoot,  and  thus  contributes  to  its  nutrition. 

The  tree  has  therefore  a  much  greater  amount  of  leaf-sur- 
face at  work  in  the  air  the  second  year  than  it  had  the  first, 
and  its  chances  of  life  are  consequently  multiplied  a  thou- 
sand fold.  For  with  every  addition  to  the  number  of  its 
leaves,  the  tree  obtains  a  new  instrument  for  extracting 
nutriment  from  the  atmosphere,  and  elaborating  such  food 
as  it  attracts  to  itself  from  the  soil.  The  amount  of  wood 
and  bark  formed  is  therefore  much  greater  the  second  year 
than  the  first ;  it  is,  in  fact,  exactly  proportionate  to  the 
increase  in  the  extent  of  leaf-surface  and  the  vital  activity 
of  the  leaves  themselves. 

The  sap  having  been  exposed  to  the  air  and  light  in  these 
additional  leaf-surfaces,  is  again  rendered  nutritious,  and 


TREE-FORM   OUT  OF   ITS   UNIT.  21 

not  only  contributes  to  the  elongation  of  the  stem  and 
branches,  but  at  the  same  time  to  the  formation  of  a  new 
conical  layer,  or  enveloping  mantle  of  wood  and  bark  be- 
tween the  wood  and  bark  of  the  previous  year.  Each  shoot, 
with  its  system  of  leaves,  contributes  its  part  to  the  newly- 
formed  layer,  and  the  growth  of  the  stem,  in  length  and 
thickness,  thus  takes  place  at  the  same  time. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  growing  season,  the  sap  is  again 
diverted  from  the  leaves  to  the  buds  forming  in  their  axilla ; 
and  the  protective  leaves  of  winter  having  been  fully  ma- 
tured, the  second  generation  of  nutritive  leaves  wither  and 
fall  from  the  stem  and  branches  as  before.  Our  tree,  when 
defoliated,  now  shows  a  number  of  shoots  associated  toge- 
ther, and  developing  from  a  common  axis  or  stem,  all  of 
which  have  been  built  up  by  leaves  constructed  on  pre- 
cisely the  same  pattern  as  the  first  year's  shoot,  and  pre- 
pared for  winter  in  exactly  the  same  manner. 

The  Third  Tear  the  tree  presents  the  same  general  vege- 
tative appearances.  The  terminal  bud  continues  the  growth 
of  the  stem  or  main  axis  as  before,  the  buds  on  the  branches 
develope  into  branchlets,  and  contribute  to  the  further  ex- 
tension of  the  branches  and  to  the  growth  of  the  shoots 
forming  at  their  summit ;  and  the  whole  system  of  shoots 
thus  put  forth,  with  their  leaves,  co-operate  in  the  forma- 
tion of  the  sap  into  another  enveloping  mantle  of  bark 
and  wood,  which  covers  the  stem  and  branches  of  the  pre- 
vious year. 

In  precisely  the  same  manner  does  the  tree  continue  to 
vegetate,  every  year  increasing  in  size  and  strength,  adding 
to  the  number  of  its  leafy  operatives,  and  the  amount  of 
labor  done,  until  it  attains  its  greatest  elevation. 

A  peculiar  alteration  in  its  habit  now  becomes  noticeable. 
For  the  sap  is  no  longer  expended  in  the  extension  of  its 
stem  and  branches,  but  in  the  formation  of  its  flowers  and 
fruit.  The  period  of  puberty  has  arrived,  the  tree  is  in  the 
full  prime  and  vigor  of  life,  and  the  growth  of  its  stem  and 
branches  is  gradually  retarded,  the  vegetative  efforts  of 
each  season  being  absorbed  by  the  reproductive.  The  tree, 


22  THE   BUILDING   UP   OF  THE 

therefore,  now  preserves  pretty  much  the  same  landscape 
character  and  appearance  year  after  year. 

Our  readers  will  now  understand  that  the  laborers  en- 
gaged in  building  up  the  tree  are  its  leaves ;  that  these 
leaves  become  the  parent  of  buds  which  develope  into  fami- 
lies of  leafy  operatives  called  shoots ;  that  these  shoots  form 
other  shoots,  which  are  constructed  on  the  same  plan  and 
pattern  as  themselves;  that  the  families  of  shoots  thus  asso- 
ciated, form  working  communities  called  branches ;  and, 
finally,  that  the  whole  tree  is  built  up  by  the  united  labors 
of  its  branches,  which  form  every  year  out  of  the  sap  new 
layers  of  wood  and  bark,  thus  adding  to  the  strength  and 
stability  of  the  entire  structure. 

Such  is  a  brief  outline  of  the  building  up  of  the  tree-form 
out  of  its  unit,  the  first  phyton  or  leaf. 

The  following  reflections  naturally  suggest  themselves, 
and  will  we  hope  be  adjudged  a  suitable  close  to  the  pre- 
sent chapter. 

A  tree  commences  life  under  very  unfavorable  circum- 
stances, surrounded  by  ten  thousand  dangers,  grows  slowly, 
and  has^difficulties  to  contend  against  at  every  stage  of  its 
progress.  Here  we  have  a  beautiful  illustration  of  life  as  it 
is — a  continual  struggle  against  difficulty.  All  inspire  after 
a  better  lot :  but  only  a  few  succeed.  These  are  invariably 
those  who  have  the  most  life-energy  and  perseverance.  The 
first  steps  in  any  undertaking  are  the  most  difficult;  and  all 
solid  and  enduring  advancement  is  made  slowly  and  imper- 
ceptibly. Let  this  never  be  forgotten.  Pre-eminent  talent 
in  any  business  or  profession  is  of  slow  growth,  and  is  the 
result  of  industry  and  hard  work.  One  difficulty  surmount- 
ed leads  to  the  conquest  of  others.  If  your  aims  be  high 
and  honorable,  do  not  be  discouraged,  although  your  pro- 
gress may  be  slow  and  difficult.  Let  your  motto  be  onward. 
There  must  be  no  retrograde  movement.  You  have  nothing 
to  do  with  fear;  it  will  retard  your  progress  and  defeat  you 
in  the  attainment  of  your  object.  If  you  are  industrious 
and  persevering,  if,  when  you  cannot  make  headway,  you 
carefully  guard  the  advantages  which  you  have  already 


TREE-FORM   OUT   OF   ITS   UNIT.  23 

gained,  your  success  is  only  a  question  of  time.  You  may 
not  succeed,  but  if  you  are  a  father,  your  children  may,  if 
brought  up  properly.  Recollect,  a  tree  grows  slowly,  and 
becomes  a  tree  despite  of  storms.  Besides,  after  all,  my 
friend,  it  is  not  one  continuous  storm,  for  there  are  occa- 
siqnal  glimpses  of  sunshine  to  help  you  along  !  And  you 
would  do  well  to  look  at  the  bright  as  well  as  the  dark 
side  of  things.  But  storms  will  assail  you:  many  and 
many  another.  It  is  part  of  the  discipline  of  life. 

A  tree  extracts  nutriment  not  only  from  wandering 
winds,  but  from  "  riishing  storms ;"  the  most  violent 
"  thunder-showers"  as  well  as  the  silently  descending 
dews  have  contributed  materially  to  the  building  up  of  its 
fabric.  Except  in  winter,  when  there  is  no  growth,  no 
vital  movement,  the  course  of  the  tree  is  upward  and 
onward  in  all  kinds  of  weather.  The  wind  may  roar 
among  its  branches,  and  the  rain  fall  in  torrents,  but  it 
continues  to  grow  despite  these  hostile  influences,  and 
becomes  a  great  tree  at  last.  The  very  strength  which 
we  admire  in  a  tree  has  been  extracted  from  a  thousand 
tempests.  Storms  have  already  tended  to  give  it  stability. 

It  is  ever  thus  with  Nature's  really  great  and  noble. 
They  show  to  the  greatest  advantage  when  assailed  by 
storms.  These  only  develope  them.  How  frequently  is 
innate  talent  brought  out  through  the  fear  of  wanting 
bread,  the  struggle  to  maintain  a  family !  Individuals  so 
circumstanced  usually  make  the  most  valuable  contribu- 
tions to  literature  and  the  industrial  arts.  Man  wo"uTct] 
never  exert  himself,  he  would  live  a  life  of  inglorious  ease 
and  self-indulgence,  he  would  do  nothing  to  advance  either 
himself  or  his  species,  if  there  were  no  difficulties  in  his 
pathway.  He  would  retrogade,  go  back  to  primevaT 
savageism.  It  is  adversity  which  calls  forth  the  nobility 
of  his  nature,  and  makes  him  transform  every  obstacle  into 
a  monument  of  his  skill  and  strength.  The  wise  and 
noble-minded  are  ever  brave  and  calm  when  enemies  as- 
sail. Conscious  of  the  rectitude  of  their  intentions,  they 
'meet  the  foe  with  boldness  and  decision  of  character,  and 


24  THE   BUILDING   UP  OF  THE 

the  very  storm  is  only  a  means  of  developing  the  intellec- 
tual and  moral  greatness  of  their  nature.  To  the  obscure 
and  crooked  ways  of  their  enemies  they  oppose  plain, 
straightforward  conduct ;  to  their  calumnies,  a  pure  and 
blameless  life ;  to  their  meanness  and  unfairness,  upright- 
ness and  honor  in  all  their  transactions.  It  is  thus  that 
they  grow  strong  through  conflict.  Instead  of  being  de- 
graded, they  are  ennobled  by  the  struggle,  elevated  in  the 
good  opinion  of  their  friends  ;  and  like  the  tree,  they  de- 
rive a  permanent  advantage  from  the  storm,  and  look  all 
the  better  when  it  has  passed. 

"We  have  in  every  tree  an  illustration  of  the  maxim, 
"In  union  there  is  strength."  A  few  leaves  by  their 
united  labors  form  a  shoot;  and  this,  by  repetition  of 
itself,  has  produced  a  great  tree.  Just  as  the  first  shoot 
was  built  up  by  the  leaves  put  forth  by  the  growth  of  the 
first  season,  so  the  entire  tree  has  been  constructed  by  the 
labors  of  those  successive  generations  of  leaves  with  which 
it  was  annually  adorned.  It  is  true  that  the  roots,  by  the 
food  which  they  have  taken  up  from  the  soil,  have  contri- 
buted their  part  to  the  general  structure ;  but  the  stem 
and  branches  have  been  formed  from  sap  which  was  first 
rendered  nutritious  in  leaves.  These  humble  yet  perish- 
able forms  have  been  the  architects  of  this  noble  and  en- 
during structure. 

So  it  is  with  man.  Individually  feeble,  he  becomes 
powerful  by  entering  into  combination  with  his  fellows. 
Who  has  measured  the  magnitude  of  the  earth,  the 
planets,  and  the  sun,  and  calculated  the  distance  of  the 
stars,  by  taking  the  diameter  of  the  earth's  orbit  as  a  base 
line  ?  Who  has  made  to  disappear  alike  the  gloomy  forest 
and  the  poisonous  swamp,  and  produced  on  their  site  a 
landscape  smiling  with  health  and  fertility  ?  Who  has 
girdled  the  earth  with  railroads,  drawn  down  the  light- 
nings from  heaven,  examined  their  nature,  and  given 
them  their  appointed  channels,  uniting  the  two  continents 
with  each  other  in  telegraphic  communication  ?  Whose 
thoughts  now  traverse  the  ocean  with  the  rapidity  of  the* 


TREE-FORM   OUT   OF  ITS   UNIT.  25 

lightning's  flash.  It  is  MAN  in  combination  who  has  done 
these  things.  The  present  state  of  perfection  to  which 
art  and  science  have  been  carried  is  the  necessary  re- 
sult of  the  labors  of  our  fathers  who  have  preceded  us. 
The  steam  engine  and  electric  telegraph  are  not  the  pro- 
dupt  of  the  present,  but  of  all  ages.  They  are  the  work 
of  countless  human  generations;  of  beings  frail  and 
perishable  as  summer  leaves  swept  by  autumnal  winds 
from  the  trees  of  the  forest.  It  is  thus  that  the  noble 
tree  of  science  grows — not  the  deadly  Upas,  dissemina- 
ting everywhere  poison  and  death,  but  the  "  Tree  of  Life," 
whose  "leaves  are  for  the  healing  of  the  nations." 

We  may  also  learn  from  the  tree  an  impressive  lesson 
of  our  own  frailty.  "Where  are  the  leaves  which  built  up 
this  massive  and  majestic  tree,  which  carries  in  the  inte- 
rior of  its  stem  the  monumental  history  of  its  life,  the  im- 
pression left  by  centuries  of  seasons  ?  And  where  are  the 
workmen  who  felled  the  forest  and  drained  the  swamps  of 
Pennsylvania,  built  her  cities  and  railroads,  and  spread 
over  her  hills  and  valleys  so  many  scenes  of  rural  industry, 
peace,  and  progress  ?  This  is  the  work  of  former  genera- 
tions, who  have  passed  away  like  summer  leaves  from  the 
tree  which  they  were  engaged  in  constructing.  We  now 
supply  their  places,  and  carry  on  their  labors.  We  profit 
by  the  industry  and  experience  of  those  human  genera- 
tions which  have  preceded  us.  Each  industrious  man 
works  not  only  for  himself,  but  for  posterity.  We  contri- 
bute a  little  during  the  active  periods  of  our  life,  to  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  science  and  the  civilization  of  society, 
and  then  we  pass  away  and  are  seen  no  more  here,  for- 
ever. "  We  all  do  fade  as  a  leaf." 


26  ANNUAL  GROWTHS  RECORDED 


CHAPTER    II. 

THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  TREES  MAY  BE  ADVAN- 
TAGEOUSLY STUDIED  BY  A  CAREFUL  EXAMINATION  OF  THE 
MARKS  LEFT  BY  NATURE  ON  THEIR  YOUNG  BRANCHES— THE 
GROWTHS  MADE  BY  THE  TREE  DURING  THE  FORMER  YEARS  OF 
ITS  LIFE  HAVING  BEEN  THERE  ACCURATELY  RECORDED. 

EVERY  part  of  a  tree,  whether  it  be  a  branch,  shoot,  or 
leaf,  represents  exactly  the  organic  condition  of  the  tree 
during  the  earlier  periods  of  its  life,  and  a  certain  stage  of 
development  through  which  the  entire  tree  itself  has  al- 
ready passed.  For  it  is  plain  from  the  facts  mentioned  in 
Chapter  I,  that  the  tree  was,  at  the  commencement  of  the 
first  year  of  its  life  a  single  leaf,  and  at  its  close  a  green  her- 
baceous shoot,  exactly  like  those  annual  growths  which  it 
now  makes  at  the  sides  and  extremities  of  its  branches.  In 
the  spring  of  the  second  year,  the  buds  formed  by  the  leaves 
of  the  first  year  at  the  sides  and  summit  of  the  first  year's 
growth  or  shoot,  developed  into  new  growths  or  shoots, 
which  were  constructed  after  precisely  the  same  pattern. 
They  presented,  in  autumn,  when  defoliated,  precisely  the 
same  external  appearances,  having  side  and  terminal  buds, 
and  the  same  peculiar  form  of  leaf-scar.  We  are,  therefore, 
necessarily  led  to  regard  them  as  only  a  repetition  of  the 
first  year's  shoot.  For  as  the  leaf  is  a  unit,  through  repe- 
tition of  which  the  first  year's  shoot  is  formed,  so  also  is  the 
first  year's  shoot  itself  a  unit,  but  of  a  higher  and  more  com- 
plex character,  through  repetition  of  which  the  branches, 
and  ultimately  the  entire  tree  itself  is  constructed.  The 
whole  is  therefore  represented  in  each  of  its  parts ;  and  if 
we  take  the  terminal  branches  of  the  tree  and  study  them 
carefully,  we  shall  obtain  clear  and  truthful  views,  not  only 
of  the  condition  of  the  tree  during  the  first  years  of  its  life, 


ON   THE  YOUNG   BARK.  27 

but  of  those  general  and  peculiar  laws  of  growth  which 
govern  the  entire  tree  itself.  All  the  apparent  confusion 
and  irregularity  among  the  branches  and  branchlets  of  a 
tree  is  the  result  of  the  operation  of  fixed  and  immutable 
laws  of  growth,  to  which  the  whole  tree  is  subjected  in  com- 
mon with  each  of  its  parts.  The  entire  tree  is  not  different 
from  one  of  its  branches  in  the  principles  of  its  construc- 
tion. In  fact,  if  one  of  the  branches  were  severed  from 
the  stem  and  planted,  it  would  not  only  represent  one  of 
the  phases  of  growth  of  the  tree,  at  an  earlier  stage  of  its 
life,  but  under  favorable  circumstances  would  actually 
grow  into  a  separate  and  independent  tree. 

In  this,  as  in  the  figures  of  leaves,  we  have  avoided  an  ex- 
travagance of  illustration,  in  order  that  our  book  may  not  be 
rendered  too  expensive.  Besides,  it  is  unnecessary.  Trees 
are  all  constructed  on  the  same  general  plan.  Hence,  we 
have  taken  our  material,  not  from  deep  resources,  but  from 
common  objects.  It  is  proper  here  to  remark,  that  the 
reader  will  understand  more  clearly  the  positions  assumed, 
if  he  procure  a  number  of  branches  of  different  trees,  such 
as  the  beech,  the  hickory,  the  horse-chestnut,  when  defo- 
liated or  in  winter,  and  attentively  study  the  marks  on  the 
exterior  of  the  bark  and  the  mode  of  ramification.  If  the 
branches  are  gathered  when  the  trees  are  in  leaf,  the  foli- 
age must  be  removed. 

The  reader  is  already  prepared  to  admit,  without  further 
proof,  that  the  growth  of  the  tree  is  very  fluctuating,  and 
is  greatly  influenced  by  changes  in  the  weather.  In  this 
respect,  the  organism  of  a  tree  is  quite  as  sensitive  as  the 
mercurial  column  in  the  tube  of  a  barometer.  It  is  well- 
known  that  the  age  of  a  tree  may  be  ascertained  by  count- 
ing the  rings  visible  on  the  cross  section  of  its  stem,  and 
that  the  impress  of  centuries  of  seasons  has  been  faithfully 
recorded  in  its  woody  layers.  The  seasons  also  leave  their 
mark  on  the  outside  as  well  as  the  inside  of  the  tree.  When 
the  young  shoot,  in  early  spring,  unfolds  itself  from  the  bud, 
and  the  brown  scales  which  enveloped  the  young  leaves 
fall  off,  they  leave  ring-formed  or  annular  scars  at  the  bot- 


28  ANNUAL   GROWTHS   RECORDED 

torn  of  the  shoot,  and  we  recognize  in  these  numerous 
girdles,  the  place  where,  during  the  previous  winter,  the 
growing  shoot  remained  in  a  state  of  rest.  These  bud- 
traces  often  continue  visible  for  many  years  on  the  bark 
of  trees,  and  through  this  means  we  can  ascertain  the 
age  of  a  branch  and  the  amount  of  its  annual  growth,  as 
exactly  as  if  we  had  ourselves  observed  and  marked  its 
progressive  growths  from  year  to  year.  The  clearest  marks 
of  these  bud-traces  may  be  seen  on  the  branches  of  the 
beech,  the  horse-chestnut,  and  the  maple,  and  are  less 
visible  on  the  bark  of  the  birch,  the  linden,  and  the  fir, 
where  they  are  not  recognized  through  the  growth  and 
changes  of  the  bark. 

The  distance  between  two  sets  of  bud-rings,  estimated 
from  the  under  and  upper  limit  of  the  rings,  shows  the 
amount  of  shoot  developed  during  the  season ;  and  the  age 
of  the  shoot  can  therefore  be  estimated  by  counting  the 
number  of  sets  of  bud-rings  visible  on  its  bark. 

So  also  the  rate  of  growth  of  the  shoot  may  be  deduced. 
It  will  be  seen  from  the  variation  in  the  amount  of  shoot 
developed  between  the  bud-rings,  that  the  growth  of  the 
primary  axis  and  its  branches  varies  from  year  to  year,  and 
that  powerful  growths  are  sometimes  followed  by  growths 
which  are  greatly  retarded.  Each  branch  has,  in  fact,  its 
own  peculiar  history  of  growth  ;  and  trees  of  different 
species  differ  not  more  widely  in  this  respect  than  two 
branches  on  the  same  tree. 

But  not  only  the  fallen-off  scales  of  the  winter's  bud,  but 
also  the  green  leaves  of  the  stem  leave  behind  them  a  pecu- 
liar scar  on  the  bark,  which  marks  the  point  of  the  stem 
to  which  they  were  attached,  and  the  number  of  leaf-scars 
between  two  bud-traces,  therefore  enables  us  to  estimate 
correctly  the  number  of  leaves  which  were  put  forth  daring 
the  year,  and  thus  we  are  able  to  picture  to  ourselves,  not 
only  the  amount  of  growth  of  the  branches,  but  also  the 
extent  to  which  the  foliage  was  developed  on  them,  and 
so,  as  it  were,  to  make  the  tree  live  again. 

"We  may  also  add  to  all  this,  that  in  many  trees  the 


ON   THE  YOUNG   BARK.  29 

flowers  too  leave  their  traces,  either  in  the  form  of 
withered  flower-stems,  or  a  peculiar  mark,  which  con- 
tinues to  be  recognized  up  to  a  certain  time.  "Where  the 
inflorescence  is  axillary,  as  in  the  Ash,  the  flower-scar  is 
situated  just  above  the  leaf-scar,  and  cannot  fail  to  be 
readily  recognized ;  and  thus  the  past  history  of  the  de- 
velopment of  the  flowers  is  recorded  on  the  bark  as  well 
as  the  rate  of  growth  and  the  number  of  leaves. 

The  specific  peculiarities  of  trees  manifest  themselves  in 
the  smallest  details  of  their  architecture,  so  that  the  least 
bud-trace,  leaf,  or  flower-scar,  suffices  by  the  peculiarity  of 
its  form  to  enable  us  to  recognize  the  species  of  tree  to 
which  it  belongs,  and  of  which  it  is  characteristic. 

To  render  the  principal  of  these  researches  clearly  un- 
derstood, we  have  selected  the  upper  part  of  one  of  the 
branches  of  the  purple  beech  (Fagus  pupurea),  which  we 
have  had  carefully  drawn  from  an  ambrotype,  so  that  our 
engraving  is  perfectly  reliable,  and  presents  a  true  and 
faithful  copy  of  the  original  branch.  "We  have  also  con- 
structed a  biological  table,  in  which  we  have  exhibited 
numerically  the  different  growths  made  by  the  primary 
axis  and  its  branches,  and  the  number  of  leaves  and  buds 
annually  developed. 

By  looking  at  the  engraving,  the  reader  will  see  that  the 
main  stem  or  primary  axis  of  the  branch  has  developed  ten 
secondary  axes  or  branches.  The  growth,  number  of 
leaves  and  shoots,  or  in  other  words,  the  history  of  the  de- 
velopment of  each  of  these  ten  secondary  axes  or  branches 
has  been  also  registered  in  the  table,  in  the  same  way  as 
the  annual  progress  in  vegetation  made  by  the  primary 
axis.  The  figures  in  the  engraving  opposite  the  annular 
scars  left  by  the  covering-leaves  or  bud-scales,  will  also 
assist  the  reader  in  estimating  the  amount  of  growth  made 
by  the  branch,  year  after  year ;  for  he  has  only  to  bear  in 
mind  that  these  annular  scars  mark  the  place  of  the  bud 
or  terminal  growth  of  the  branch  during  the  year  indi- 
cated by  the  figures,  to  place  the  exact  vegetative  condi- 
tion of  the  branch  at  any  one  of  the  previous  years  of  its 
existence,  as  it  were,  in  a  moment  before  his  eyes. 


30 


ANNUAL   GROWTHS   RECORDED. 


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32  ANNUAL   GROWTHS   RECORDED 

This  branch  was  cut  in  the  latter  part  of  March,  1858  ; 
and  as  there  are  six  sets  of  bud-rings  on  its  main  axis,  it  is 
evident  that  it  is  six  years  old,  and  that  its  growth  from 
the  bud  must  have  commenced  in  the  spring  of  1852.  It 
is  also  plain  that  the  first  side-shoot  commenced  growing 
in  the  spring  of  1853,  and  is,  therefore,  five  years  old. 
Hence,  only  five  sets  of  bud-rings  are  visible  on  this  shoot. 
The  same  law  is  apparent  through  the  entire  series  of  ra- 
mifications ;  each  shoot  is  one  year  younger,  and  will  be 
found  to  have  one  set  of  bud-rings  less  than  its  parent 
axis.  By  comparing  the  engraving  with  the  numerical 
calculations  in  the  Table,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  growth 
made  by  the  primary  axis  between  1852  and  1853,  was 
four  inches,  and  that  five  leaves  were  put  forth,  only  one 
of  which  produced  a  vitally  active  bud,  which  ultimately 
became  a  shoot.  The  buds  produced  by  the  other  four 
leaves  were  rudimentary,  and,  as  is  evident  from  the  en- 
graving, never  came  to  anything. 

Again,  by  reference  to  the  figures  in  the  Plate  and  the 
calculations  in  the  Table,  the  condition  of  the  branch  in 
the  spring  of  1854  will  be  seen  at  a  glance.  The  primary 
axis  had  grown  from  the  set  of  bud- rings  marked  53  to  the 
set  marked  54,  a  distance  of  eight  inches  and  five  lines:  it 
had  developed  five  leaves,  and  as  there  are  three  branches 
connected  with  this  portion  of  the  main  axis,  it  is  evident 
that  three  out  of  the  five  leaves  produced  vitally  active 
buds.  So,  also,  the  first  side-shoot  or  secondary  axis  grew 
two  lines  and  put  forth  four  leaves.  It  grew,  in  fact,  about 
the  length  of  a  bud-trace,  or  took  a  minimum  of  develop- 
ment. The  distance  between  the  two  broken  lines  at  the 
bottom  of  the  engraving,  figured  53  and  54,  shows  the  ex- 
tent of  growth  of  the  first  side-shoot  between  1853  and 
1854.  This,  then,  was  the  exact  condition  of  our  beech 
branch  in  the  spring  of  1854.  There  were  terminal  buds 
at  all  the  points  of  the  main  axis  marked  54  ;  and  conse- 
quently, with  the  exception  of  the  slight  side-growth  made 
by  the  first  secondary  axis  at  the  bottom,  the  primary  axis 
itself  still  remained  unbranched. 


ON  THE  YOUNG   BARK.  33 

In  precisely  the  same  manner,  the  extent  to  which  this 
branch  had  grown  in  the  spring  of  1855  may  be  ascertained. 
It  is  only  necessary  to  bear  in  mind,  that  at  all  the  points 
on  the  main  axis  and  its  branches  marked  55,  there  were 
buds  or  terminal  growths,  and  that  at  these  points  the  grow- 
ing shoot  was  in  a  state  of  rest,  in  order  to  see  that  the  three 
buds  formed  the  previous  year,  or  on  that  portion  of  the 
main  axis  contained  between  53  and  54,  had  grown  into 
three  considerable  branches,  of  the  respective  lengths  of 
two  inches  and  ten  lines,  six  inches  and  nine  lines,  and 
seven  inches  and  ten  lines.  There  were,  therefore,  four 
well-marked  secondary  axes  connected  with  the  primary 
axis  below  the  bud-trace  marked  54  on  the  primary  axis, 
whilst  the  four  branches  situated  above  it,  and  included 
between  54  and  55,  were  still  in  the  bud  condition. 

Between  the  years  1855  and  1856,  the  growth  of  the 
primary  axis  appears  to  have  been  very  greatly  retarded. 
It  grew  only  four  lines,  put  forth  three  leaves,  and  there 
was  no  side  production.  The  same  check  to  vegetation  is 
also  beautifully  apparent  on  the  branches  during  the  same 
season.  This  is  well  represented  in  the  engraving,  and 
the  figures  in  the  table  show  a  similar  growth  of  four*nes, 
three  leaves,  and  no  side  production,  of  all  the  branches 
with  the  exception  of  the  first  and  fourth,  which  grew 
eight  lines  and  produced  four  leaves.  This  shows  the  in- 
timate physiological  connection  subsisting  amongst  a  sys- 
tem of  branches,  and  that  if  the  growth  of  the  primary 
axis  is  retarded,  the  growth  of  the  secondary  axes  experi- 
ence a  similar  vegetative  check. 

In  like  manner,  the  reader  can  easily  ascertain  the  con- 
dition of  growth  of  the  branch  during  the  years  1856  and 
1857,  and  thus  accurately  trace  the  several  mutations  of 
form  through  which  it  passed  anterior  to  assuming  its 
present  one,  in  the  Spring  of  1858,  as  represented  in  our 
engraving. 

The  following  curious  and  highly-interesting  facts  may 
also  be  deduced  from  the  calculations  of  the  above  Table. 

The  figures  28,  at  the  bottom  of  the  first  column 

3 


34  ANNUAL   GROWTHS   RECORDED 

marked  L,  show  the  number  of  leaves  put  forth  by 
the  primary  axis ;  and  the  sum  of  the  figures  of  the 
ten  columns  marked  L,  of  the  secondary  axes,  or, 
20+15+16+21+ll+13+13+13-|-3+2=12T,  shows  that 
one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  leaves  were  put  forth  by 
the  ten  secondary  axes  or  branches ;  therefore,  the  total 
number  of  leaves  which  constructed  the  entire  branch, 
was  127+28-155. 

If  the  reader  will  refer  to  the  Table  and  then  to  the 
Plate,  he  can  form  a  true  estimate  as  to  the  size  of  the 
branch.  The  length  of  the  primary  axis  is  twenty-seven 
inches  and  three  lines,  and  of  the  largest  secondary  axis 
fifteen  inches  :  yet  it  is  the  leaf-labor  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty-five  leaves  !  The  branch  itself  we  have  shown  to  be 
only  six  years  old.  What  then  must  be  the  immense  num- 
ber of  leaves  engaged  in  the  construction  of  trees  which 
put  forth  thousands  of  such  twigs,  comparatively  speaking, 
from  their  immense  spreading  branches,  which  grow  from 
one  to  two  hundred  feet  in  height,  and  whose  giant  forms 
have  stood  for  hundreds  and  even  thousands  of  years  ?  Who 
can  estimate  the  quantity  of  leaf-surface  spread  abroad  in- 
the  atmosphere  from  the  first  commencement  of  germina- 
tion, and  the  amount  of  leaf-labor  necessary  to  rear  such 
vast,  noble,  and  enduring  vegetable  monuments  ?  "  The 
Washington  Elm,  at  Cambridge, — a  tree  of  no  extraordi- 
nary size — was  some  years  ago  estimated  to  produce  a 
crop  of  seven  millions  of  leaves,  exposing  a  surface  of 
two  hundred  thousand  square  feet,  or  about  five  acres  of 
foliage."* 

Again  referring  to  the  Table  and  the  engraving,  we  find 
that  the  increase  of  leaf-surface  each  year,  was  as  follows : — 

1853,  5 ;  1854,  9 ;  1855,  25  ;  1856,  30  ;  1857, 41 ;  1858,  44. 
That  is  to  say,  in  1853  the  branch  put  forth  five  leaves;  in 

1854,  nine  leaves,  &c.  &c.     These  numerical  results  are 
obtained  by  adding  together  the  figures  under  L,  opposite 
the  years,  across  the  columns. 

*  "  First  Lessons  in  Botany  and  Vegetable  Physiology,"  by  Asa  Gray, 
1857. 


ON  THE  YOUNG   BARK.  35 

It  is  proper  also  to  remark  here,  that  with  every  increase 
in  the  number  of  leaves  spread  abroad  in  the  atmosphere, 
by  a  young  tree  or  branch,  there  must  be  necessarily  an  in- 
crease m  the  rapidity  of  its  growth,  because  it  has  a  greater 
amount  of  leaf-surface  at  work  in  the  air.  Its  chances  of 
life,  and  of  arriving  at  a  state  of  maturity,  become  greater 
as  its  leaves  increase  in  number.  But  this  law  must  be 
understood  with  considerable  modifications. 

It  will  be  seen  by  reference  to  the  Table  and  the  Plate, 
that  the  growth  of  the  branch  was  greatly  retarded  from 
1855  to  1856.  The  primary  axis  that  season  grew  only 
four  lines,  and  the  ten  secondary  axes  were  also  equally 
kept  back,  so  that  very  little  wood  was  formed  that  year ; 
altogether  it  amounted  to  only  three  inches  and  seven 
lines.  Yet  there  were  thirty  leaves  at  work  that  season, 
being  four  more  than  was  put  forth  the  previous  year, 
when  a  much  greater  amount  of  work  was  done,  twenty- 
six  leaves  forming  not  less  than  twenty-seven  inches  and 
six  lines  of  new  shoot.  It  is  clear  from  this,  that  growth 
is  proportionate,  not  so  much  to  the  amount  of  leaf-surface 
spread  forth  in  the  atmosphere,  as  to  the  vital  activity  of 
the  leaves  themselves. 

Again,  by  consulting  the  Table,  it  will  be  seen  that  al- 
though twenty-eight  leaves  were  employed  in  constructing 
the  primary  axis,  yet  only  ten  produced  buds  which  ulti- 
mately became  branches ;  also,  that  these  ten  branches, 
although  constructed  by  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven 
leaves,  developed  only  seventeen  shoots,  as  is  evident  by 
adding  together  the  sum  of  the  figures  at  the  bottom  of  the 
columns  marked  S,  under  "  Secondary  Axis;"  it  follows, 
that  of  these  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  leaves  only 
seventeen  produced  vitally  active  buds.  Therefore,  the 
total  number  of  abortive  or  rudimentary  buds  in  the  entire 
branch  must  be  155— (17+10)=128. 

The  number  of  shoots  annually  put  forth,  were,  in 
1853,  1;  1854,  3;  1855,  13;  1856,  0;  185T,  10;  1858,  0. 

The  increase  in  the  growth  of  the  entire  branch  was,  in 
1853,  4;  1854,  8-7;  1855,27-6;  1856,  3-7;  1857, 18-8;  1858, 


36      ANNUAL   GROWTHS   RECORDED   ON   THE   YOUNG   BARK. 

19-9:  that  is  to  say,  in  1853,  the  branch  grew  four  inches ; 
in  1854,  eight  inches  and  seven  lines,  &c.  &c.  These  re- 
sults are  obtained  by  adding  together  the  sum  of  the 
growths  of  the  primary  and  secondary  axis,  placed  oppo- 
site the  years,  across  the  columns,  as  before. 

"We  have  therefore,  in  this  Table,  the  whole  history  of  the 
annual  growths  of  our  beech-branch  placed  at  once  before 
the  eye.  Now  the  importance  of  such  tables,  as  presenting 
a  truthful  picture  of  the  growth  of  trees,  is  at  once  appa- 
rent. Similar  tables  might  be  constructed,  representing 
the  annual  growths  made  by  one  of  the  terminal  branches 
of  the  horse-chestnut  or  any  other  tree ;  and  provided  the 
measurements  and  observations  were  accurately  made  and 
registered,  the  comparison  of  the  tables  would  show  not 
only  the  general  laws  of  growth,  which  were  common  to 
all  of  them,  but  those  peculiar  specific  laws  to  which  each 
was  subjected,  and  by  the  operation  of  which  they  were 
made  to  differ  from  each  other. 

The  history  of  development  is  now  the  watchword  of  the 
day  in  botany ;  and  it  is  evident  that  by  a  careful  construc- 
tion of  tables  like  the  above,  from  references  made  to  marks 
which  Nature  herself  has  made,  we  can,  by  a  simple  yet 
most  accurate  method,  study  the  history  of  development, 
and  this  too  in  the  strongest  sense  of  the  word.  Such 
tables  give  to  botanists  a  view  of  the  past  life-changes  of 
the  branch  or  portion  of  the  tree  whose  biology  is  thus 
registered,  just  as  the  marks  left  by  Nature  in  the  strata 
or  upturned  leaves  of  the  "  Stony  Volume  of  Creation," 
enable  the  geologist  to  picture  to  himself  the  condition  of 
the  earth  during  the  earlier  epochs  of  its  formation. 

Of  the  tree,  it  may  be  truly  said  that  THE  WHOLE  is  RE- 
PRESENTED IN  EACH  or  ITS  PARTS.  The  careful  study  of  its 
development  is,  therefore,  physiologically  speaking,  most 
important,  because  beautifully  illustrative  of  this  grand 
principle  of  organic  life  and  form. 


THE   INNER   ORGANIZATION   OP  TREES.  37 


CHAPTER   III. 

THE  INNER  ORGANIZATION  OF  TREES,  OR  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE 
ANATOMY  AND  PHYSIOLOGY  OF  THE  DIFFERENT  SPECIES  OF 
CELLS  WHICH  ENTER  INTO  THE  COMPOSITION  OF  THEIR  TISSUES. 

IF  we  wish  to  recognize  the  law  according  to  which  the 
tree  is  built  up  out  of  its  parts  as  a  compound  harmonious 
whole,  we  must  first  resolve  the  representation  of  the  whole 
into  that  unit  which  lies  at  the  foundation  of  its  super- 
structure. This  we  have  already  done,  to  some  extent,  in 
the  two  previous  chapters.  Taking  the  tree,  in  the  most 
extended  signification  of  the  term,  as  a  separate  individual 
or  unit  with  reference  to  a  forest,  we  have  shown  that  this 
individual  tree  consists  of  a  number  of  individual  plants  of 
a  highly  composite  character  called  branches,  which  differ 
from  the  entire  tree  itself  only  in  the  smaller  scale  on 
which  they  are  constructed,  and  which  actually  prefigure 
the  amount  of  growth  of  that  tree  at  an  earlier  stage  of  its 
life.  These  branches  are  formed  by  a  union  of  yet  simpler 
individuals  called  shoots,  and  the  shoots  themselves  are 
built  up  by  phytons  or  leaves,  individuals  or  units  which 
rank  still  lower  in  the  series.  In  this  manner  we  have 
been  lead  to  the  leaf  at  the  fundamental  organ  in  the 
building  up  of  the  tree-form. 

But  this  analysis  may  be  carried  much  further.  It  may 
be  applied  to  the  inner  organization  of  the  tree.  Thus  the 
axis  or  stem  separates  into  two  distinct  systems  the  bark 
and  the  wood,  as  the  two  highest  units  of  its  anatomical 
composition.  Each  of  these  systems  again  resolves  itself 
into  a  repetition  of  single  annual  layers.  If  we  examine 
one  of  these  layers  with  a  microscope,  we  shall  find  it  also 
to  be  a  compound,  and  that  it  can  be  resolved  into  indi- 


38  THE   INNER   ORGANIZATION   OF   TREES. 

viduals  having  distinct  peculiarities  of  form  and  function, 
called  cells.  We  have  now  arrived  at  the  lowest  and 
simplest  individual  or  elementary  organ,  the  CELL. 

By  the  aid  of  Chemistry  we  can  descend  however,  another 
step,  and  can  resolve  the  cell  into  its  original  elements  of 
sugar,  water,  salts,  and  protein  compounds,  and  these 
again  into  their  ultimate  elements,  Oxygen,  Hydrogen,  Car- 
bon, and  Nitrogen — elements  into  which  this  grand,  living, 
and  wondrous  architecture  of  Nature  is  at  last  resolved, 
when  it  has  passed  through  all  the  phases  of  its  life,  as  its 
defoliated  form  slowly  disappears  from  the  landscape. 

Now  as  all  clear  and  correct  views  of  the  anatomy  and 
physiology  of  trees  must  be  based  on  a  knowledge  of  their 
minute  structure,  before  proceeding  further  we  shall  give 
some  account  of  these  simple  elementary  cells ;  for  by  this 
means  we  shall  be  able  to  explain  more  satisfactorily  cer- 
tain superficial  and  very  obvious  appearances  of  their  bark 
and  wood,  and  thus  advance  another  step  in  the  elucidation 
of  the  philosophy  of  their  growth.  It  is  indeed  necessary 
to  the  perfection  of  this  picture  of  the  building-up  of  the 
tree,  that  we  should  begin  with  the  simplest  building  stone, 
the  CELL,  which  is  the  basis  of  the  whole  living  super- 
structure, and  to  which  we  have  been  led  by  the  above 
analysis. 

If  we  examine  the  transverse  section  of  the  stem  of  a 
young  beech-tree,  we  shall  find  it  to  be  composed  of  a  num- 
ber of  concentrical  and  almost  circular  beds  or  layers  of 
wood,  ensheathing  one  another  about  a  common  centre, 
which  is  occupied  by  a  canal  of  medulla  or  pith,  and  the 
whole  of  which  is  covered  by  the  bark  formed  on  the  exterior 
of  the  stem.  Even  without  a  microscope,  there  is  no  diffi- 
culty in  distinguishing  the  bark,  the  wood,  and  the  pith,  and 
thus  in  ascertaining  the  fact  that  the  stem  is  composed  of 
three  separate  and  distinct  systems;  but  when  we  examine  a 
thin  cross-section  of  one  of  the  newly-developed  shoots  with 
the  microscope,  we  obtain  a  far  more  correct  view  of  its 
anatomical  structure.  "We  see  that  the  bark  and  pith  are 
composed  of  a  number  of  bladder-like  vesicles  or  cells  of  a 


THE   INNER   ORGANIZATION   OF   TREES.  39 

variable  form,  which  are  united  among  themselves  and  form 
a  continuous  mass ;  and  that  the  woody  portion  of  the  stem 
consists  of  thick-walled  cells,  among  which  are  numerous 
openings  exhibiting  quite  a  distinctive  character.  The  exa- 
mination of  a  longitudinal  section  of  the  same  shoot  proves 
that  these  openings  are  the  mouths  of  vessels  of  a  cylindri- 
cal form,  and  that  the  thick- walled  cells  are  sections  across 
tubes  which  taper  to  either  extremity,  terminating  in  a  point. 

Attempts  have  been  made  by  botanists  to  classify  these 
different  species  of  cells  according  to  their  outward  form, 
which  have  failed  to  give  satisfaction :  their  form  being  too 
variable  to  admit  of  a  classification  of  them  on  such  a  basis. 
A  much  better  character,  because  a  more  permanent  one,  is 
afforded  by  their  physiological  peculiarities.  Guided  by 
this  principle,  we  may  readily  distinguish,  in  the  stem  of 
the  beech-tree,  six  different  species  of  cells.  In  the  bark, 
three  species,  viz.,  the  cells  of  the  epidermis,  those  of  the 
corky  or  tuberous  envelope,  and  the  bast-cells ;  in  the 
wood,  two  species,  the  fibre-cells,  and  the  vasiform  or  duct- 
cells  ;  and  in  the  pith  and  medullary  rays,  one  species, 
common  parenchyma. 

Each  of  these  species  of  cells  carries  its  own  life,  has  its 
own  peculiar  period  of  growth  and  vital  activity ;  and  its 
cells  differ  morphologically  as  well  as  chemically  from  the 
cells  of  the  neighboring  tissues. 

THE   BARK. 

The  Cells  of  the  Epidermis  clothe  the  outer  part  of  the 
bark  of  trees  during  the  first  year  of  their  life,  and  subse- 
quently the  surface  of  those  green  herbaceous  shoots  which, 
are  annually  put  forth  from  the  branches.  These  cells  are 
in  form,  flat  and  tabular,  and  as  they  are  without  chloro- 
phyl,  and  are  united  among  themselves  with  an  extraordi- 
nary degree  of  force,  they  may  be  separated  from  the  sub- 
jacent tissues,  without  being  detached  from  each  other,  as  a 
continuous  transparent  plate  or  membrane.  In  the  young 
and  tender  condition  of  the  stem  of  trees  the  epidermal 
cells  are  of  considerable  importance ;  but  they  survive  the 


40        THE  INNER  ORGANIZATION  OF  TREES. 

first  year  only  in  a  few  cases.  In  general,  these  cells  die 
toward  the  middle  of  summer,  and  the  epidermis  becomes 
fissured  and  rent.  The  epidermis  is  therefore  absent  from 
the  old  stems  of  forest  trees.  The  pores  must  be  regarded 
as  a  variety  of  the  epidermal  cells. 

The  Cork  Cells  or  Tuberous  layer. — These  cells  lie  imme- 
diately beneath  the  epidermis.  They  are  more  or  less  flat, 
tabular,  and  thin- walled  cells  of  a  brown  color.  They  form 
themselves  under  the  epidermis,  and  usually  appear  first  as 
lenticels  through  the  chinks  of  the  epidermal  layers.  The 
commencement  of  the  cork  formation  can  be  observed 
under  the  epidermis  of  the  young  branches  of  the  oak, 
birch,  and  beech,  in  the  middle  of  summer,  or  at  the  com- 
mencement of  autumn.  It  is  the  cork  which  gives  to  the 
trunk  of  trees  their  peculiar  color  and  rugged  appearance. 
"When  the  cork-cells  form,  the  epidermis  speedily  dies  off, 
and  the  cork  supplies  its  place  and  in  some  measure  its 
function.  It  restrains,  equally  with  the  epidermis,  the  eva- 
poration from  the  underlying  cells,  and  affords  them  an  ex- 
cellent protective  shelter  from  hurtful  outward  influences. 
Cork  invariably  forms  itself  over  the  wounds  of  plants  as  a 
protective  envelope.  Therefore,  although  the  life  of  the 
cork-cells  is  of  short  duration,  they  form  when  dead,  a  very 
important  tissue,  and  continue  to  be  of  considerable  service 
to  the  tree.  The  rough  fissured  bark  on  the  outside  of  old 
trees  chiefly,  consists  of  layers  of  dead  cork-cells. 

The  BastCells. — These  form  the  fibrous  portion  of  the  inner 
bark,  and  develope  vertically  as  elastic  tubes,  more  or  less 
elongated  and  thick-walled,  which  usually  lie  together  in 
fascicles  or  bundles,  and  are  united  with  considerable  force. 
It  is  these  bundles  which  constitute  the  textile  fibres  in 
flax  and  hemp,  and  in  general  in  all  plants  cultivated  for  the 
fabrication  of  clothing.  The  bast-cells  are  also  a  very 
important  tissue  for  the  manufacture  of  paper  and  cord- 
age. They  elongate  themselves  with  the  parts  of  the 
plant  in  which  they  originate  without  forming  new  cells, 
and  often  attain  to  a  considerable  length.  It  is  in  the  bast- 
fibres  that  the  sap  descends  after  its  elaboration  in  the 


THE  INNER  ORGANIZATION  OF  TREES.        41 

leaves.  The  fluid  contents  of  these  cells  are,  therefore,  as 
manifold  as  that  of  the  parenchyma  cells.  The  bast-cells 
of  one  plant  contain  quite  a  different  fluid  matter  to  that  of 
another  plant.  In  one,  the  fluid  is  poisonous;  in  another, 
nutritive :  here  it  is  a  white,  yellow,  or  orange-colored 
milk  sap :  there,  caoutchouc,  chlorophyl,  or  resinous  mat- 
ters are  present. 

Although  the  bast-cells  form  the  innermost  layer  of  bark, 
in  no  case  do  they  rest  immediately  on  the  wood.  They 
are  always  separated  by  a  bed  of  cells  more  or  less  thick, 
called  the  cambium  layer. 

THE  WOOD. 

The  wood  includes  nearly  the  whole  of  that  part  of  the 
stem  situated  beneath  the  bark.  It  consists  of  a  number 
of  ligneous  circles,  visible  on  the  cross-section,  which  are 
traversed  by  lines  radiating  from  the  centre  to  the  circum- 
ference of  the  stem,  that  is  to  say,  from  the  medullary 
canal  to  the  bark,  called  the  medullary  rays. 

This  disposition  of  the  wood  in  circular  beds  or  layers, 
takes  place  in  all  the  trees  of  countries  where  the  season  of 
growth  has  only  a  limited  duration,  and  is  followed  by  a 
period  of  cold  and  vegetable  inactivity.  Each  year  there  is 
formed  in  spring  a  new  bed  of  wood,  and  at  the  same  time 
a  fresh  layer  of  bark.  The  age  of  a  tree  is,  therefore,  in 
most  cases,  the  same  as  the  number  of  ligneous  circles 
which  can  be  counted  on  the  cross-section  of  its  stem.  In 
the  same  manner  the  age  of  the  branches  may  be  computed. 

This  fact  must  be  mentioned  with  some  restrictions ;  for, 
in  certain  circumstances,  as  for  instance,  when  a  warm 
spring  is  succeeded  by  a  wet,  cold  summer,  vegetation  re- 
ceives a  check,  and  a  ring  is  formed  prematurely;  with  the 
return  of  more  favorable  weather,  the  tree  again  makes  a 
rapid  growth,  so  that  at  the  close  of  the  vegetative  season 
two  rings  have  been  formed  during  the  same  year.  The 
rings  become  less  distinct  in  Exogenous  trees  as  we  travel 
South.  On  approaching  warmer  climates,  where  vegetation 
continues  almost  without  interruption  throughout  the  whole 


42         THE  INNER  ORGANIZATION  OF  TREES. 

year,  the  rings  become  confounded  one  with  the  other ; 
they  are  much  thinner,  and  so  multiplied  that  they  cease 
to  be  reliable,  and  do  not  indicate  in  any  manner  the  age 
of  the  tree. 

The  trees  of  temperate  climates  usually  thicken  them- 
selves in  their  whole  circumference,  and  the  unequal  de- 
velopment of  only  one  side  must  always  be  regarded  as  an 
exceptional  case.  In  tropical  countries  there  are,  however, 
trees  whose  stems  take  the  most  wonderful  forms,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  unequal  development  of  their  sides.  Some 
of  them  belong  to  the  genus  Bauhinia,  Natural  Order, 
Leguminosae.  The  most  striking  example  among  the  spe- 
cies of  this  genus  is  furnished  by  the  stem  of  Heretiera 
Fomes.  The  first  year  the  stem  of  this  tree  is  normally 
formed,  a  small  wood-ring  surrounding  the  pith ;  but  after- 
ward it  annually  thickens  by  crescent-like  deposits  of  wood 
on  two  opposite  sides ;  the  stem  thus  presents  a  flattened, 
compressed  appearance.  "I  examined  such  a  stem,"  says 
Dr. Herman  Schacht,*  "which  was  eighteen  inches  in  one 
direction,  in  the  other,  on  the  contrary,  it  was  only  two 
inches  broad,"  presenting  "in  some  measure,  the  appear- 
ance of  a  natural  plank,  surrounded  by  a  weak  bark." 

Anomalous  forms  of  Exogenous  stems  also  exist  amongst 
tropical  trees  belonging  to  the  Natural  Orders  Bignonia- 
cese,  Malpighiacese,  Menispermacese,  and  Aristolochiaceae.f 

In  the  wood  of  beech-trees,  two  distinct  species  of  cells 
can  be  recognized,  the  fibre-cells  and  the  vasiform  or  duct- 
cells. 

The  fibre-cells  form  the  principal  part  of  the  wood  of 
each  ligneous  deposit.  They  are  elongated  and  extremely 
attenuated  cells,  tapering  to  either  extremity,  and  lying  to- 
gether in  bundles  more  or  less  compact,  which  are  developed 
vertically.  It  is  through  the  fibre-cells  of  the  wood  that 
the  main  current  of  the  sap  flows  in  the  spring.  Their  vital 

*  "  Lehrbuch  der  Anatomie  und  Physiologie  der  Gewachse,"  page  345, 
Berlin,  1856. 

f  See,  "Precis  de  Botanique  et  de  Physiologie  Vegetale,"  par  A.  Rich- 
ard j  page  75-80,  Paris,  1852. 


THE  INNER  ORGANIZATION  OF  TREES.        43 

activity,  however,  only  continues  for  a  short  time.  Their 
walls  are  soon  thickened  by  earthy  matter,  which  goes  on 
accumulating,  until  their  cavities  are  finally  closed,  and 
the  sap  ceases  to  circulate  through  them.  The  color  then 
changes,  and  they  no  longer  take  any  further  part  in  the 
vital  operations  of  the  tree.  Their  function  is  now  purely 
a  mechanical  one ;  for  the  very  same  matter  which  termi- 
nates life  endows  them  with  force  and  persistence.  The 
fibre-cells  thus  lignified,  form,  as  it  were,  the  skeleton  or 
framework  of  the  tree,  and  withstand  outer  influences  as 
well  as  inner  decomposition  much  longer  than  the  other 
tissues.  They  are  the  very  last  to  yield  to  dissolution. 

The  vasiform  or  duct-cells  are  spread  through  the  mass  of 
fibrous  tissue.  They  originate  out  of  a  row  of  cells,  the 
cross  walls  of  which  are  absorbed,  so  that,  when  fully  de- 
veloped, they  form  one  continuous  tube.  These  ducts  may 
be  readily  distinguished  from  the  wood-cells  among  which 
they  are  interspersed,  as  their  interior  diameter  or  bore  is 
much  more  considerable,  and  they  remain  permanently 
open.  The  open  mouths  of  the  ducts  are  very  conspicuous 
on  the  transverse  section  of  common  pine-wood,  where 
they  resemble  pores.  There  are  several  varieties  of  this 
species  of  cell  termed  by  botanists,  dotted,  annular,  spiral, 
and  scalariform  ducts.  The  whole  of  these  vessels  at  first 
Contain  sap,  which  is  afterward  displaced  by  air.  They 
may  be  regarded,  in  fact,  as  the  air-vessels  of  plants,  by 
means  of  which  the  sap  in  their  interior  is  brought  into 
communication  with  the  atmosphere.  This  is  the  reason 
why  these  ducts  or  air-tubes  are  placed  amongst  the  fibre- 
cells  or  sap-tubes,  as  inspection  plainly  shows. 

The  ducts  and  fibre-cells  are,  however,  arranged  in  the 
stem  according  to  a  definite  law,  as  inspection  plainly 
shows ;  for  the  former  preponderate  in  number  toward  the 
interior  portion  of  the  ring,  whilst  the  fibre-cells  are  most 
abundant  towards  its  exterior.  The  bounding  line  of  each 
year's  growth  is  easily  distinguished  by  this  internal  ar- 
rangement of  the  ducts,  and  its  cause  is  to  be  sought  for 
in  the  vital  economy  of  the  tree  itself.  The  inner  portion 


44  THE  INNER   ORGANIZATION  OF  TREES. 

of  the  wood- ring,  with  its  loose  and  porous  structure,  is 
constructed  in  spring,  when  the  greatest  amount  of  sap  is 
needed  for  the  nutrition  of  the  growing  leaves,  shoots,  and 
flowers.  Hence  the  wood-cells  formed  at  this  time  have 
wide  cavities,  and  their  walls  are  but  slightly  thickened. 
They  have  been  called  by  botanists  ducts,  and  through 
them  the  current  of  sap  flows  in  early  spring,  when  it  is 
most  in  demand.  But  in  summer  and  autumn,  when  the 
new  leaves  and  shoots  are  fully  developed,  less  sap  is 
needed.  The  outer  and  more  compact  portion  of  the  wood 
is  formed  at  this  time,  and  the  wood-cells  then  developed 
are  adapted  in  their  tubular  capacity,  to  the  diminished  ne- 
cessities of  the  tree ;  their  cavities  are  much  smaller  and 
their  walls  thicker.  It  is  the  long,  attenuated  forms  of 
these  cells  which  has  led  to  their  being  called  fibre-cells. 

The  fibre  and  duct-cells  die  early.  There  is  a  gradual 
cessation  of  their  vitality,  inseparably  connected  with  their 
formation.  So  soon  as  a  cell  ceases  to  form  new  cells,  or 
to  develope  or  carry  nourishing  matter  in  it,  so  soon  as  its 
fluid  contents  disappear  and  it  becomes  filled  with  air,  it 
may  be  considered  as  dead.  This  is  the  condition  of  the 
fibre  and  duct-cells  when  fully  developed ;  then  the  sap 
disappears  from  their  cavities,  and  we  find  in  them  neither 
protoplasm  nor  cell-nuclei.  Their  nitrogenous  contents 
have  been  expended  either  in  the  lignification  of  thei^ 
walls,  or  they  have  been  absorbed  by  the  neighboring 
cells.  With  the  disappearance  of  this  formative  material, 
the  life  of  these  cells  necessarily  terminates. 

THE   PITH   AND    THE   MEDULLARY   RAYS. 

These  are  parenchyma  cells ;  the  most  widely  diffused, 
important,  and  variable  tissue  of  plants.  The  paren- 
chyma cells  of  the  pith  are  spherical  or  ovoid  when  they 
are  but  slightly  united  together,  but  more  often  they  be- 
come more  or  less  polyhedral  by  reciprocal  pressure. 

In  the  young  stem,  the  pith  is  of  considerable  importance; 
it  abounds  in  nutritive  matter,  which  serves  to  nourish  the 
young  buds  on  its  surface,  and  is  often  of  a  green  color, 


THE   INNER   ORGANIZATION   OF  TREES.  45 

more  or  less  intense.  But  when  the  buds  develope  into 
branches,  supporting  leaves,  flowers,  and  other  appen- 
dages, the  nutritive  liquids  accumulated  in  the  pith  are 
absorbed,  the  particles  of  green  matter  disappear ;  and 
when  the  vegetation  commenced  in  spring  is  arrested  in 
autumn,  the  cells  of  the  pith  are  dry,  colorless,  and  empty : 
they  are  then,  in  fact,  dead  cells. 

The  parenchyma  cells  of  the  medullary  rays  are  of  a 
quadrilateral  form,  and  develope  in  horizontal  radiating 
lines  from  the  pith  to  the  bark.  These  lines  are  easily 
distinguished  on  the  cross-section  of  the  stem.,  when  the 
wood  is  compact  and  not  too  deeply  colored :  the  oak,  for 
example.  Their  looser  structure  and  lighter  color  renders 
them  in  such  circumstances  more  visible.  The  medullary 
rays  develope  vertically  as  well  as  horizontally,  and  parti- 
tion off  the  wood  into  a  number  of  wedges,  in  the  form  of 
elongated  triangles,  of  which  the  point  that  is  a  little 
obtuse  corresponds  to  the  medullary  canal. 

The  medullary  rays  are  of  great  service  to  the  old  wood. 
They  maintain  an  exchange  of  sap  between  the  cells  of  the 
pith,  wood,  and  bark ;  and  when  the  pith-cells  are  quite 
dead,  they  unite  the  older  annual  layers  of  wood  with  the 
younger  and  with  the  bark,  and  thus  continue  the  commu- 
nication .  They  therefore  survive  the  death  of  the  pith-cells, 
and  even  of  the  wood-cells,  in  the  midst  of  which  they  ra- 
diate. The  medullary  rays  of  a  five  or  six  years'  old  wood- 
ring,  are  still  vitally  active  cells,  filled  with  sap. 

"We  have  now  given  the  anatomical  and  physiological 
peculiarities  of  the  different  species  of  cells  which,  united, 
form  the  tissue  or  substance  of  the  stem  of  a  beech  tree. 
We  proceed  to  investigate  the  physiological  phenomena  of 
these  cells,  as  combined  together  into  a  continuous  tissue, 
and  thus  give  the  reader  as  clear  and  philosophical  an  idea 
as  possible  of  the  growth  of  the  tree. 

The  remarkable  disposition  of  the  substance  of  the  bark 
and  wood  in  circular  strata  or  layers,  results  from  the  an- 
nual formation  of  a  new  stratum  or  bed  of  wood  on  the 
exterior  of  that  already  existing  there,  and  of  one  or  more 


46  THE   INNER   ORGANIZATION    OF  TREES. 

layers  of  bark  on  the  inner  surface  of  the  bed  of  bark 
formed  during  the  previous  year. 

If  during  winter,  when  vegetation  is  in  a  state  of  repose, 
we  examine  the  cross-section  of  a  young  stem  or  branch, 
we  shall  find  it  in  the  following  state.  The  bark  and  wood 
are  firmly  united  with  each  other,  and  lying  directly  be- 
tween them  a  bed  of  parenchyma  will  be  seen,  deprived  of 
green  granules,  which  is  called  the  cambium  layer.  This 
bed  has  been  formed  during  the  preceding  summer,  from 
the  descending  sap  or  cambium,  which  spreads  itself  be- 
tween the  bark  and  wood ;  and  it  is  through  the  trans- 
formations effected  in  its  cells  that  new  rings  of  wood  and 
layers  of  bark  are  annually  produced.  Parenchyma  is  the 
original  form  of  every  species  of  cells.  If  we  examine  with 
the  microscope  a  section  of  a  young  leaf,  or  root,  or  any 
other  organ  of  a  plant,  we  shall  find  that  it  is  composed 
entirely  of  parenchymatous  tissue  in  the  first  stages  of  its 
development;  as  growth  progresses,  these  cellules  are 
gradually  transformed  into  fibre-cells,  and  vasiform  tissue 
or  ducts.  In  the  same  manner,  the  different  species  of 
cells,  forming  the  annual  growths  of  wood  and  bark,  are 
generated  from  the  parenchyma  cells  of  the  cambium  layer. 

During  winter  we  perceive  no  change  in  the  cells  of  the 
cambium  layer,  which  are  filled  with  nutritive  matter,  whilst 
the  cells  of  the  medullary  rays  contain  starch.  As  soon, 
however,  as  spring  commences,  the  starch  granules  are  con- 
verted into  a  soluble  sugaiy  gum  called  dextrine,  with  which 
the  cells  of  the  cambium  layer  are  speedily  gorged,  so  that 
the  bark  and  wood  are  now  easily  separated.  It  is  out  of 
this  viscid  mucilaginous  matter,  or  cambium,  that  the  new 
layer  of  bark  and  wood  is  annually  produced.  For  as  the 
weather  gets  warmer,  the  vital  activity  of  the  cells  of  the 
cambium  layer  becomes  fully  aroused,  and  they  generate 
cells  of  the  same  nature  as  those  with  which  they  are  organi- 
cally united,  out  of  the  cambium  or  sap  with  which  their  cavi- 
ties are  charged,  and  elongate  into  fibre  and  bast-cells ;  wood 
producing  wood,  bark  forming  bark,  the  cells  preserving 
their  original  form  of  parenchyma  only  in  those  portions 


THE  INNER   ORGANIZATION   OF  TREES.  47 

which  correspond  to  the  medullary  rays.     In  this  manner 
a  new  layer  of  wood  and  bark  is  annually  formed. 

The  parenchyma  cells  of  the  cambium  layer  retain  their 
vital  activity  longer  than  any  other  cells  in  the  tree ;  for,  as 
new  cells  are  developed  from  this  tissue  every  season,  the 
death  and  birth  of  its  cells  keep  with  one  another  equal 
steps.  These  cells  may  continue  to  be  vitally  active  to  some 
extent :  even  when  the  life-processes  have  ceased  through 
nearly  the  entire  structure  of  the  tree,  here  life  may  still 
linger,  these  cells  being  the  very  last  to  yield  up  their 
vitality. 

The  vasiform  or  duct-cells  in  early  spring,  when  the  as- 
cent of  the  sap  is  most  powerful,  at  first  convey  it  to  the 
leaves  in  conjunction  with  the  fibre-cells  of  the  wood.  But, 
as  the  flow  of  the  sap  becomes  less  vigorous,  it  gradually 
disappears  from  the  ducts,  owing  to  their  deficiency  in  the 
requisite  amount  of  capillarity,  which  thus  become  filled 
with  air ;  the  finer  capillary  tubes  of  the  fibre-cells,  however, 
still  induce  a  continuance  of  its  flow  through  their  cavities. 

As  the  sap  speedily  subsides  in  the  ducts,  earthy  deposits 
necessarily  accumulate  sparingly  on  their  parieties  or  walls, 
and  their  tabes  remain  permanently  open.  The  interior 
diameter  of  the  duct-tubes  is  from  the  first  much  larger 
than  the  bore  of  the  fibre-tubes,  hence  the  sap  continues  to 
flow  in  the  latter  much  longer  than  in  the  former :  in  fact, 
throughout  the  season.  As  every  additional  deposit  of 
earthy  matter  on  the  walls  of  the  fibre-cells  necessarily  gives 
them  a  finer  degree  of  capillarity,  the  sap  continues  to  flow 
in  them  through  subsequent  seasons,  until  their  tubular 
character  is  obliterated  altogether.  When  this  is  the  case, 
the  life  of  the  fibre-cells  is  terminated,  and  they  exercise  a 
purely  mechanical  function. 

This  solidification  of  the  fibre-cells  is  usually  connected 
with  a  change  in  the  color  of  the  wood,  more  or  less  marked. 
If  the  transverse  section  of  the  stem  of  an  oak  or  cherry- 
tree  be  examined,  a  very  perceptible  difference  will  be  seen 
between  the  circular  beds  of  wood  toward  the  interior  of 
the  stem,  which  are  of  a  deeper  color  and  more  compact  than 


48  THE   INNER   ORGANIZATION   OF  TREES. 

those  situated  nearest  the  bark,  which  are,  on  the  contrary, 
pale,  and  of  a  looser  texture.  The  pale  wood  nearest  the 
bark  is  called  the  alburnum,  or  sap-wood,  as  the  sap  still 
continues  to  circulate  there  to  a  greater  or  less  extent ;  the 
older,  more  compact,  deeply-colored,  and  more  solidified 
wood,  which  occupies  the  more  interior  part  of  the  stem,  is 
called  duramen  or  heart- wood.  This  wood  consists  of  dead, 
indurated  cells,  the  cavities  of  which  have  been  filled  up 
with  earthy  matter  or  lignine,  and  is  the  part  chiefly  valued 
by  workmen  as  most  suitable  for  manufacturing  purposes. 
The  various  fancy-colored  woods  employed  by  the  turner 
and  cabinet-maker,  consist  of  the  heart-wood  only,  which 
assumes  different  colors  in  different  species,  being  black  in 
the  ebony,  bright  yellow  in  the  barberry,  purplish  red  in 
the  cedar,  and  dark  brown  in  the  black  walnut.  The 
alburnum  in  all  these  trees,  even  in  the  ebony  itself,  is 
always  white,  and  is  chipped  off  with  the  axe  before  the 
wood  is  shipped,  as  a  part  of  little  or  no  value. 

The  years'  rings  are  manifest  not  only  in  the  wood,  but 
also  in  the  bark ;  and  in  the  pine  and  other  trees  those  last 
formed  continue  to  be  unbroken  for  a  number  of  years.  But 
whilst  every  new  layer  of  wood  is  deposited  on  the  exterior 
surface  of  the  last  year's  wood,  the  diameter  of  the  wood  is 
a  constantly  increasing  quantity,  each  ring  of  wood  remain- 
ing unaltered  in  its  dimensions  and  position  until  its  cells 
finally  decay ;  each  new  layer  of  bark  is  deposited  on  the 
interior  surface  of  the  ring  of  bark  of  the  previous  year ; 
hence,  the  bark-rings  or  layers,  previously  deposited,  are 
subjected  to  gradual  but  incessant  distention,  and  are  finally 
fissured  and  rent.  The  interior  growth  of  the  bark,  com- 
bined with  the  annual  development  of  the  subjacent  wood- 
rings,  thus  prevents  an  accumulation  of  bark  to  any  very 
great  extent,  on  the  exterior  of  the  stem.  Hence  it  is  that, 
on  the  cross-section,  the  bark  bears  but  a  small  proportion 
in  thickness  to  the  wood.  In  the  common  plane  tree,  after 
the  eighth  or  tenth  year,  all  the  old  layers  of  bark  fall  away 
entirely  in  the  form  of  brittle  plates.  The  innermost  layers 
of  wood,  and  the  outermost  layers  of  bark,  are  therefore, 


THE    INNER    ORGANIZATION   OF   TREES.  49 

after  a  certain  period,  both  deprived  of  life.  The  cork  tree 
(Quercus  stiher)  however,  is  an  exception.  On  the  stem  of 
this  tree,  which  is  cultivated  in  Spain,  Portugal,  and  the 
South  of  France,  the  bark  grows  to  a  considerable  thickness, 
and  is  removed  from  the  tree  every  eight  or  ten  years.  It  is 
taken  off  in  sheets  or  tables,  much  in  the  same  way  as  oak  or 
larch  bark  is  removed.  After  being  detached  it  is  flattened, 
by  presenting  the  convex  side  to  heat  or  pressure.  In  either 
case  it  is  charred  on  both  surfaces,  to  close  the  transverse 
pores  previously  to  its  being  sold.  The  carbonized  surface 
produced  by  this  charring  may  be  seen  in  bungs  and  taps, 
but  not  in  corks,  which  being  cut  in  the  direction  of  the 
wood,  the  charring  is  taken  off  in  the  rounding.  The  dead 
bark  is  taken  off  for  the  first  time  when  the  tree  is  about 
fifteen  years  old ;  it  soon  grows  again,  and  the  tree  may  be 
rebarked  three  times,  the  bark  improving  every  time  until 
the  tree  attains  the  age  of  thirty  years. 

The  old,  dead,  and  fissured  bark  on  the  exterior  surface 
of  yon  aged  tree,  was  once  a  young,  living,  and  continuous 
tissue  in  immediate  contact  with  the  wood,  and  has  been 
gradually  separated  from  it,  by  the  subjacent  growth  of  suc- 
cessive strata,  or  rather  annual  generations  of  bark-cells. 
Life  has  in  succession  passed  from  these  away.  The  older 
and  more  exterior,  shelter  the  younger  and  more  internal 
bark-cells.  Vegetative  life  is  at  present,*  torpid  and  inac- 
tive, and  the  snow  covers  the  ground ;  but  the  sun  shall 
again  shine  bright  and  warm  on  that  now  leafless  tree,  and 
under  its  influence  another  generation  of  young  and  vitally 
active  bark-cells  shall  develope,  and  be  pushed  forward  to 
die  on  the  exterior  of  the  stem  and  be  ultimately  thrown  off 
like  the  generations  which  have  preceded  them. 

From  the  whole  of  these  facts  it  may  be  inferred,  that  the 
life  of  a  tree  depends  on  a  harmonious  working  together  of 
both  its  living  and  dead  cells,  the  latter  remaining  not  only 
as  a  mechanical  prop  or  foundation  for  new  generations,  like 
the  dead  individuals  of  a  coral  reef,  but  giving  to  the  entire 
organism  additional  strength,  after  they  have  ceased  to 

*  This  passage  was  written  in  the  winter  of  1857. 
4 


50         THE  INNER  ORGANIZATION  OF  TREES. 

take  part  in  its  vital  operations,  and  therefore  still  remain- 
ing a  necessary  part  of  it,  as  a  living  physiological  whole. 

It  is  also  evident  that  the  different  species  of  cells  which 
united  together  form  the  tissues  of  trees,  like  their  leaves 
and  other  organs,  are  individuals  having  distinct  physio- 
logical functions  to  perform.  These  plant-cells  differ  from 
the  phytons  or  leaves  only  in  the  greater  simplicity  of  their 
organization ;  both  are  governed  by  the  same  general  laws, 
having  a  life  peculiar  to  themselves,  and  their  own  period 
of  arriving  at  a  state  of  maturity  and  decay.  There  is  also, 
evidently  a  similar  division  of  organic  labor  amongst  the 
cells,  as  amongst  the  leaves ;  each  cell  contributes  its  part 
to  the  building  up  of  the  tree,  and  the  separate  and  com- 
bined labor  of  the  whole  of  them  is  necessary  in  order  to 
effect  those  various  transmutations  and  changes  of  the  raw 
nutritive  material,  or  sap,  into  its  final  products.  We  know 
that  some  of  the  cells,  such  as  the  fibre  and  duct-cells,  are 
principally  employed  in  carrying  the  raw  material  from  one 
part  of  the  cell  community  to  the  other,  and  that  these 
changes  are  wrought  in  the  parenchyma  cells,  not  of  the 
leaves  alone,  but  in  parenchyma  everywhere ;  for  the  paren- 
chyma cells  of  the  root  and  pith  are  frequently  as  rich  in 
starch  as  those  of  the  bark  or  leaves.  But  we  are  at 
present  profoundly  ignorant  not  only  of  the  nature  of  these 
transmutations,  but  also  of  the  order  in  which  they  take 
place :  for  that  the  entire  series  are  governed  by  fixed  laws 
of  sequence  is  plainly  indicated  by  the  whole  of  the  vital 
phenomena  of  the  plant. 

We  see  it  put  forth  a  regular  series  of  organs,  which 
follow  each  other  in  a  determinate  order  of  time,  and  not 
only  contribute  to  the  nourishment  of  each  other,  but  yield 
up  life  in  succession  in  effecting  a  progressive  metamor- 
phosis of  the  constituents  of  the  sap,  and  the  advance  of  the 
plant  towards  the  perfection  of  its  structure.  And  first  the 
seed-covers  are  ruptured  and  the  nursing-leaves  atrophied 
in  the  development  of  the  first  series  of  phytons ;  these  latter 
die  in  developing  the  stem  and  the  buds  on  its  outside.  These 
buds  consist  of  a  series  of  covering  leaves,  which  shelter  the 


THE    INNER    ORGANIZATION   OF   TREES.  51 

punctum  vegetationis  or  growing  point  of  the  young  shoots 
through  winter ;  they  die  and  fall  off  in  spring.  "When  the 
new  generation  of  phytons  are  put  forth  into  the  atmosphere, 
another  series  of  covering-leaves  are  formed  by  them,  which 
are  left  in  charge  of  the  growing  points  of  the  shoot  through 
winter,  as  before.  In  this  manner  -there  is  an  oscillation 
between  these  two  kinds  of  leaves  in  trees  for  a  series  of 
years,  until  the  tree  arrives  at  an  adult  state.  The  different 
phytons  of  the  flower  designated  by  botanists  as  sepals,  pe- 
tals, stamens,  and  pistils,  whose  individuality  is  so  strikingly 
marked,  then  make  their  appearance,  and  these  die  in  suc- 
cession in  developing  the  walls  of  the  pericarp,  or  seed- 
vessel.  Lastly,  the  vitality  of  the  walls  of  the  pericarp 
itself  is  exhausted ;  for  the  whole  of  the  nutritious  contents 
of  its  cells  must  pass  through  the  funiculus,  or  vegetable 
umbilicus,  the  little  stalk  by  which  the  seed  is  fastened  to 
the  seed-vessel,  into  the  nursing-leaves  and  seed-covers, 
before  the  germ  of  the  future  plant  can  be  fully  formed. 

There  can,  therefore,  no  longer  remain  a  particle  of 
doubt  about  the  fact  that  the  cells  which  form  the  organ 
of  a  tree,  work  together  in  communities  according  to  fixed 
laws  of  succession,  and  that  the  design  of  the  whole  of  these 
arrangements  is  to  effect  such  changes  in  the  sap  as  to  secure 
its  final  transmutation  into  those  peculiar  products  by  which 
the  tree  is  distinguished.  Just  as  in  civilized  communities 
the  raw  material  of  our  manufactures  goes  through  a  regular 
series  of  changes  in  the  hands  of  a  great  number  of  work- 
men, before  the  goods  are  manufactured  and  fit  for  sale,  so 
with  the  ultimate  products  of  plants,  which  are  as  various 
as  the  plants  which  produce  them.  These  have  all  been 
manufactured  from  the  raw  material,  or  sap,  which  has  gone 
through  a  regular  series  of  preparatory  metamorphoses,  or 
changes  in  the  interior  of  the  plant.  The  lowest  order  of 
individuals  employed  in  effecting  these  changes  are  the  cells, 
which  combined  together  into  communities  form  those  dif- 
ferent varieties  of  phytons  which  develope  about  the  axis 
or  stem  of  the  plant.  These  phytons  or  cell-communities 
constitute  a  still  higher  type  of  individuals,  which  appear 


52         THE  INNER  ORGANIZATION  OF  TREES. 

in  regular  order  and  change  their  form  and  color  as  the 
metamorphosis  of  the  sap  progresses.  In  herbaceous  an- 
nuals and  perennials,  a  few  weeks  or  months  is  all  that  is 
required  to  transmute  the  sap  into  its  final  products ;  but 
in  perennial  ligneous  plants,  such  as  shrubs  and  forest  trees, 
the  period  of  metamorphosis  is  greatly  protracted,  and  it  is 
sometimes  years  before  the  whole  thing  culminates,  and 
the  luscious  fruit  hangs  at  last  from  the  branches. 

The  recent  advances  which  have  been  made  in  Vegetable 
Anatomy  and  Physiology,  result  from  the  right  application 
of  chemical  reagents  to  sections  of  vegetable  tissue,  when 
placed  beneath  the  microscope.  The  principal  reagents 
employed  in  these  researches  are  Sulphuric  Acid,  Iodine, 
Caustic  Potash,  Sulphuric  Ether,  Alcohol,  and  Ammonia. 
Through  the  use  of  these  reagents,  a  few  facts  have  been 
brought  to  light.  Starch,  for  example,  is  detected  by  Iodine, 
if  present  in  the  cells,  by  the  blue  color  which  the  granules 
assume.  In  this  manner  starch  may  be  readily  ascertained 
to  exist  in  the  tubers  of  the  potato  and  in  the  milky  juice  of 
Euphorbia  splendens.  It  is  only  necessary  to  place  a  thin 
transparent  slice  of  the  tuber  of  the  potato  or  a  single  drop 
of  the  milk  of  the  Euphorbia,  under  the  microscope  and 
apply  Tincture  of  Iodine,  when  the  granules  will  imme- 
diately become  visible  by  the  deep  blue  color  which  they 
will  take. 


a.  Club-shaped  granules  in  milky  juice  of  Euphorbia  splendens.   b.  Three 
of  the  lactiferous  vessels,  with  starch  granules  in  situ. — QUEKETT. 

In  a  similar  manner,  the  chemical  nature  of  chlorophyl, 
the  substance  which  gives  to  the  leaves  of  plants  their  green 


THE  INNER  ORGANIZATION  OF  TREES.         53 

color,  lias  been  examined  ;  so  also,  gum,  sugar,  resin,  and 
the  other  products  of  the  cells.  It  has  been  ascertained 
that  starch  passes  into  dextrin  and  sugar,  which  substances 
are  again  transmuted  into  starch;  but  when  we  look  at  the 
rich  diversity  of  vegetable  productions  and  find  that  the 
most  learned  chemists  and  physiologists  are  compelled, 
through  pure  ignorance,  to  speak  in  the  most  general 
terms  about  the  nature  and  order  of  these  changes,  we 
cannot  but  feel  how  little  the  works  of  Mature  are  under- 
stood. Look  at  the  flowers  in  any  garden  !  What  an  end- 
less variety  of  color,  form,  and  fragrance  !  Each  variety  of 
leaf  connected  with  the  stem,  including  the  pistils,  stamens, 
petals,  sepals,  and  even  the  bracts,  stipules,  and  bud-scales, 
are  doubtless  formed  with  an  especial  reference  to  the  ela- 
boration of  the  sap  into  those  final  products  by  which  the 
plant  is  characterized ;  yet,  notwithstanding  all  that  has 
been  written  and  said  on  the  subject,  it  must  be  confessed 
that  we  cannot,  as  yet,  appreciate  the  perfection  of  the 
machinery,  or  trace  the  progress  of  the  raw  material 
through  all  its  changes,  until  it  reaches  its  final  metamor- 
phosis. In  this  respect,  not  only  the  tree,  but  the  com- 
monest weed  is  an  interesting  study ;  it  exemplifies  the 
laws  of  growth  quite  as  much  as  the  costly  exotic  in  the 
conservatory.  The  flowers  and  forest  trees  which  cover 
and  adorn  the  earth,  may  be  regarded  as  so  many  beau- 
tiful living  problems,  which  are  everywhere  presented  to 
us  by  the  GREAT  INTELLIGENCE  for  our  solution. 

And  now,  reader,  may  I  be  permitted  to  lay  before  you 
some  reflections  which  appear  to  me  to  be  suggested  by 
the  facts  advanced  in  the  last  two  chapters. 

Be  usefully  employed,  never  be  idle.  This  grand  moral 
lesson  is  taught  us  by  every  portion  of  the  fabric  of  a  tree. 
Not  only  each  goodly  branch  and  vigorous  shoot,  each  frail 
and  perishable  leaf  of  the  many  thousands  which  have 
passed  forever  away,  but  even  the  minutest  and  most  in- 
significant bract  and  bud-scale  has  contributed  to  the  for- 
mation of  the  tree.  Some  of  the  phytons  \vere  neither 
green  nor  gorgeous  in  their  apparel,  their  external  appear- 


54  THE   INNER   ORGANIZATION   OF   TREES. 

ance  was  insignificant,  and  the  task  allotted  to  them  in  the 
labor  of  construction  was  small ;  but  it  was  nevertheless, 
physiologically  speaking,  an  important  one  :  for  phytons, 
even  when  for  want  of  a  proper  supply  of  sap  and  sun- 
light they  can  produce  nothing  but  starveling  shoots,  or 
take  the  form  of  stipules  or  bud-scales,  are  nevertheless 
necessary  in  the  places  where  they  are  situated,  in  order 
to  develope  other  parts  which  are  of  more  service  to  the 
tree.  They  form  a  link  in  the  chain  of  mutual  labor. 
And  not  only  individually  do  they  receive  support  from 
the  tree,  but  each  labors  according  to  the  extent  of  its 
capacity  in  yielding  the  tree  an  equivalent,  in  insuring  it 
the  means  of  protecting  and  sustaining  its  life. 

Even  the  little  cell,  through  the  increase  of  which  the 
whole  mass  of  the  tree  itself  is  formed,  plainly  teaches  us 
this  great  moral  lesson.  According  to  physiologists,  man 
himself  was,  at  the  commencement  of  life,  nothing  but  a 
single  cell.  The  inner  organization  of  trees,  and  the  pe- 
culiarities of  their  cell-life,  has  therefore  some  claim  on 
his  consideration. 

Variety  of  form  and  function  is  characteristic  of  all  the 
parts  of  the  tree,  and  not  less  varied  are  the  gifts  of  the  in- 
dividuals constituting  the  population  of  a  city  or  country. 
It  is  this  variety  of  gift,  this  division  and  association  of 
labor  for  a  common  object,  which  has  created  society. 
And  there  can  be  no  growth  or  progress  either  ^of  indi- 
viduals or  communities  without  labor. 

Let  me  define  what  I  understand  by  the  term  labor. 
To  many  persons  this  word  conveys  ideas  of  nothing  but 
suffering,  constraint,  and  fatigue.  This  is  not  what  I 
mean.  I  call  labor  any  useful  employment  of  our  physical 
and  intellectual  powers ;  some  occupation  of  mind  or  body, 
no  matter  what,  by  means  of  which  we  insure  our  own 
progress  and  the  advance  of  society.  This  lesson  is 
taught,  not  only  by  all  the  individual  parts  of  the  noble 
forest  tree,  but  by  every  flower  and  blade  of  grass:  in  fact 
by  all  the  individuals  of  the  vegetable  world.  All  are  at 
work,  and  what  is  more  to  the  purpose,  usefully  employed. 


THE    INNER    ORGANIZATION    OF   TREES.  55 

Many  plants  are  well  known  to  be  valuable  as  sources  of 
food  and  medicine  ;  and  doubtless  others  exist  around  us 
which  are  equally  valuable,  although  at  present  the  REASON 
OF  THEIR  CREATION  is  not  so  apparent.  One  thing  is  clear, 
that  there  is  no  such  a  thing  in  Nature  as  a  plant  which  is 
perfectly  useless.  Even  weeds  develope  habits  of  care  and 
industry,  which  are  called  into  exercise  in  effecting  their 
extirpation ;  in  addition  to  this,  they  undoubtedly  perform 
their  allotted  task  in  the  great  laboratory  of  Nature,  and 
are  the  instruments  by  means  of  which  nutritive  matter  is 
extracted  from  the  passing  wind  and  the  falling  rain-drop, 
which  they  deliver  to  the  soil  on  which  they  finally  decay. 
A  weed  is,  properly  speaking,  a  plant  out  of  place.  Any 
plant  may  become  a  weed  if  it  is  allowed  to  multiply  to  an 
unreasonable  extent,  so  as  to  prevent  the  growth  of  other 
plants  which  it  is  desirable  to  cultivate. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  lessons  of  industry  taught  by  the 
vegetable  world,  but — the  reader  must  pardon  the  digres- 
sion— even  the  lifeless  elements,  the  winds  and  waters, 
what  are  these  but  the  great  labor- forces  of  Nature  ?  Those 
clouds  must  be  brought  from  yonder  ocean  to  water  this 
thirsty  landscape;  these  rocks  must  be  pulverized  and  con- 
verted into  fruitful  soils  ;  the  winds  that  wander  by  you, 
reader,  are  engaged  in  the  discharge  of  these  duties.  See 
the  ocean  at  work,  battering  down  the  rocks  along  the 
sea-shore  ;  and  the  rivers  at  work,  transporting  the  mate- 
rials of  hills  and  mountains  to  the  ocean.  It  is  thus,  after 
myriads  of  ages,  that  the  land  and  sea  are  made  to  change 
places.  "  The  sea,"  says  Sir  John  Herschel,  "  is  constantly 
beating  on  the  land,  grinding  it  down,  and  scattering  its 
worn-off  particles  and  fragments,  in  the  state  of  mud  and 
pebbles,  over  its  bed.  Geological  facts  afford  abundant 
proof  that  the  existing  continents  have  all  of  them  under- 
gone this  process,  even  more  than  once,  and  been  entirely 
torn  in  fragments,  or  reduced  to  powder,  and  submerged 
and  reconstructed."  All  this  work  is  done  by  the  winds 
and  waters. 

Surely  in  such  a  world,  all  labor  directed  to  useful  pur- 
poses is  honorable  employment,  and  renders  the  laborer 


56  THE   INNER   ORGANIZATION   OF  TREES. 

respectable.  Can  any  position  be  more  false,  unnatural, 
and  ruinous  in  its  tendencies,  than  one  founded  on  the 
doctrine  that  labor  is  degrading?  Yet  the  majority  of  men 
are  making  it  the  business  of  their  lives  to  render  them-' 
selves  and  their  children  independent!  Independent  of 
what  ?  Not  of  labor,  surely.  Riches  are  very  uncertain 
possessions.  Better  bring  up  children  to  a  regular  busi- 
ness, even  if  you  have  wealth  to  leave  them.  Let  them  be 
early  taught  to  work.  Then  they  will  be  more  likely  to 
live  long  and  happily,  and  to  maintain  that  position  in 
society  to  which  your  industry  has  elevated  them. 

Every  person  in  good  health  ought  to  employ  his  powers. 
Labor  is  ennobling.  It  is  the  sure  road  to  a  high  and 
honorable  career.  All  the  great  men  of  ancient  and  modern 
times  have  acquired  distinction  through  labor.  Demos- 
thenes and  Newton  acquired  their  imperishable  renown  in 
this  manner.  In  a  letter  to  one  of  his  friends,  Newton 
says,  "  If  I  have  done  the  public  any  service,  it  is  due  to 
nothing  but  industry  and  patient  thought."  It  is  the  idle 
man  alone  who  degrades  himself.  He  lives  in  the  habitual 
violation  of  a  great  natural  law,  and  becomes  enervated 
both  in  body  and  mind.  It  may  be  that  he  is  possessed  of 
all  the  appliances  of  wealth  and  modern  civilization,  yet  he 
lives  wretchedly  and  is  cursed  with  ennui.  Where  is  the 
flashing  eye,  the  light  elastic  footstep  attendant  on  useful, 
agreeable,  and  profitable  employment  ?  You  might  be  sur- 
rounded by  the  creations  of  your  own  genius,  with  the  ad- 
vantages which  you  have  at  your  command,  if  you  pos- 
sessed any  nobility  or  energy  of  soul.  You  are  miserable, 
because  you  are  idle — a  jarring  string  amid  the  surround- 
ing harmonies  of  industrious  nature.  Everything  about 
you  is  a  rebuke  on  your  conduct.  All  nature  cries  shame 
on  your  idleness.  You  ought  to  blush  to  look  at  the 
flowers  of  the  field,  the  blades  of  grass,  or  those  monu- 
ments of  leaf-industry,  the  trees,  in  all  their  endlessly 
diversified  varieties  of  architecture.  It  is  impossible  for 
any  family  to  continue  pre-eminent  in  a  community,  unless, 
along  with  the  wealth  which  they  receive  is  transmitted  the 
industry  and  life-energy  of  their  ancestors. 


THE    CONICAL   GROWTH   OF    TREES.  57 


CHAPTER   IV. 

THE  TREE  IS  CONSTRUCTED  ON  THE  PRINCIPLE  OF  A  CONE.  ITS 
LEAVES  ARE  THE  SOURCES  WHENCE  PROCEED  THE  FORMATIVE 
MATERIAL  USED  IN  THE  BUILDING  UP  OF  ITS  STEM  AND 
BRANCHES,  WHICH  IS  DISTRIBUTED  AMONGST  THEM  AFTER  A 
COMMON  LAW. 

IF  we  look  at  the  stem  and  branches  of  a  tree  in  winter, 
when  it  is  deprived  of  its  leaves,  we  shall  see  at  once  that  it 
is  constructed  on  the  principle  of  a  cone ;  for  the  main  axis 
or  stem  of  the  tree  is  broadest  at  its  base,  and  gradually  de- 
creases in  thickness  toward  the  extremities  of  its  branches. 
Any  branch  is,  in  the  place  where  a  side  branch  originates, 
stronger  than  the  last  at  its  base,  so  also  this  side  branch  is 
stronger  than  the  branchlet  which  it  produces,  and  in  this 
manner  the  thickness  of  the  stem  or  principal  axis  steps,  as 
it  were,  away  by  degrees  from  branch  to  branch,  until  at 
length  it  loses  itself  in  the  fine  branches  of  the  youngest 
generation  of  shoots.  It  is  well  known  that  the  cone  is 
the  stablest  structure  in  nature,  and  the  tree  may  be  re- 
garded as  an  arborescent  cone. 

It  was  shown  on  page  38,  that  the  stem  of  a  young  beech 
tree  exhibits,  on  the  cross-section,  a  number  of  concentri- 
cal  and  almost  circular  beds  or  layers  of  wood  ensheathing 
one  another  about  a  common  centre,  which  is  occupied  by 
a  canal  of  medulla  or  pith,  the  whole  being  covered  by  the 
bark  formed  on  the  exterior  of  the  stem.  The  longitudinal 
section,  on  the  contrary,  shows  that  the  stem  is  composed  of 
a  series  of  superposed,  and  hollow,  elongated  cones,  the  old 
conical  layers  or  growths  of  the  last  and  previous  seasons 
constituting  a  firm  foundation  for  the  new  conical  layers 
of  the  next  and  succeeding  years.  Through  the  whole  of 
these  cones  the  pith  penetrates  as  a  continuous  cylinder. 

The  conical  growth  of  the  tree  is  the  result  of  the  conical 
formation  of  the  first  year's  shoot,  which  is  the  foundation 


58          THE  CONICAL  GROWTH  OF  TREES. 

of  the  subsequent  annual  additions  of  wood  and  bark ;  for 
as  these  are  deposited  in  strata,  which  lie  parallel  with  the 
wood  and  bark  of  the  first  year's  shoot,  the  conical  form 
of  the  superposed  layers  is  necessarily  retained. 

Growth  in  length  and  growth  in  thickness  must  there- 
fore be  hereafter  regarded,  not  as  two  different  factors,  but 
as  the  result  of  one  and  the  same  vegetative  cause,  viz., 
the  formation  each  year  of  a  new  conical  layer  or  enve- 
loping mantle  of  wood  and  bark,  which  extends  from  the 
top  to  the  bottom  of  the  tree.  In  order  to  make  clear  the 
connection  which  subsists  between  these  two  contempora- 
neous acts  of  growth,  we  shall  leave  the  bark  out  of  con- 
sideration for  the  present,  and  confine  ourselves  to  the 
wood  as  the  peculiar  variable  part,  and  that  which  princi- 
pally determines  the  thickening  of  the  entire  axis. 

The  annexed  figure  represents  an  ideal  longitudinal 
view  of  the  primary  and  secondary  axes  of  the  beech 
branch  already  prefigured  and  described  in  Chapter  II, 
and  is  intended  to  illustrate  the  nature  of  conical  growths, 
and  the  connection  which  subsists  between  the  axis  and 
its  ramifications. 

It  is  quite  plain  that,  as  each  new  cone  developes  from 
the  terminal  bud  which  is  situated  at  the  summit  of  the 
previous  year's  cone,  the  sets  of  bud-rings  which  are  visi- 
ble on  the  exterior  bark  of  the  young  stems  and  branches 
of  trees,  and  which  mark  the  growth  of  each  year,  must 
correspond  respectively  with  the  summits  of  each  indi- 
vidual of  the  superposed  series  of  cones ;  and  that,  as 
these  cones  are  formed  by  the  leaves  of  each  year,  their 
summits  rise  above  one  another  according  to  the  greater 
or  less  amount  of  vital  activity  of  the  leaves  during  the  sea- 
son of  growth.  Hence,  figures  '53  point  out  the  summit  of 
the  first  and  innermost  cone,  which  corresponds  exactly 
with  the  position  on  the  exterior  bark  of  the  first  set  of  bud- 
rings.  It  is  the  same  with  the  tops  of  the  other  enveloping 
cones  marked  '54,  '55,  '56,  and  '57.  The  figures  indicate 
not  only  the  tops  of  the  cones,  but,  at  the  same  time,  the 
place  of  the  annular  scars  left  by  the  bud-scales  on  the  bark. 

Hence,  in  order  to  estimate  the  age  of  an  axis  from  a  given 


1358 


vr. 


..55 


'57...... 


60  THE  COMICAL  GROWTH  OF  TREES. 

point  taken  below  the  terminal  bud,  it  is  only  necessary  to 
count  the  number  of  sets  of  bud-rings  on  the  exterior  bark, 
or  of  years'  rings  visible  in  the  wood  on  the  cross-section 
of  the  axis,  as  both  numbers  will  be  found  to  correspond 
invariably  with  each  other.  To  make  this  plain  to  the 
reader,  the  diagram  shows  not  only  the  relative  position 
and  number  of  the  several  conical  growths,  but  their  re- 
spective lengths  and  breadths  at  the  same  time,  the  latter 
being  visible  at  the  bottom  of  the  diagram  in  the  form  of 
a  corresponding  number  of  circular  and  concentric  woody 
layers  or  strata. 

The  following  simple  geometrical  consideration  will,  we 
hope,  aid  the  reader  in  obtaining  an  approach  to  a  proper 
conception  of  the  relation  subsisting  between  growth  in 
length  and  increase  in  breadth  among  the  branches  of  trees. 
If  he  regards  the  diagram  attentively  for  a  few  moments, 
he  will  see  that  the  two  sides  of  the  innermost  cone,  esti- 
mated from  the  point  immediately  below  the  terminal  bud 
marked  '53,  form,  with  the  diameter  or  breadth  of  the  cone 
at  its  base,  an  isosceles  triangle.  Now,  supposing  the  base 
of  this  triangle  to  remain  constant  and  its  two  sides  to  vary, 
it  is  plain  that  the  angle  of  acumination  formed  at  the  apex 
of  the  triangle  will  be  a  function  of  its  sides,  for  this  angle 
will  become  greater  or  smaller,  in  proportion  as  we  suppose 
the  apex  of  the  triangle  to  approach  to  or  recede  from  its 
base,  and  its .  two  sides  to  shorten  or  elongate.  For  the 
shorter  and  more  abbreviated  the  axis  of  the  cone,  the  more 
relatively  enlarged  is  its  base,  and  the  more  clearly  is  it 
conical;  but  the  more  its  axis  is  lengthened,  so  much  the 
more  do  the  two  sides  of  the  cone  approach  to  a  state  of 
parallelism,  and  the  axis  tend  to  a  cylindrical  form. 

These  considerations  prove  that  the  following  law  will  ex- 
press the  relation  subsisting  between  the  two  dimensions  of 
length  and  breadth ;  the  branches  are  more  cylindrical  the  long- 
er they  are,  and  more  conical  in  proportion  as  they  are  shorter. 

As  examples  of  well-marked  conical  growth  we  may  men- 
tion those  extremely  abbreviated,  or  more  properly  speaking, 
abortive  shoots,  called  thorns,  of  which  (Cratceguscrus-galli) 
the  Cockspur  thorn  furnishes  us  with  an  admirable  instance. 


THE   CONICAL   GROWTH   OF  TREES.  61 

In  the  case  of  (Salix  Balylonicd)  the  Weeping  Willow,  on 
the  contrary,  we  have  an  instance  of  branches  which  tend 
more  to  a  cylindrical  than  to  a  conical  form.  In  consequence 
of  this  peculiarity,  the  branches  of  this  tree  are  long  and 
pendulous,  their  waterfall-like  curvature  is  extremely 
graceful,  and,  as  they  wave  backward  and  forward  in  the 
wind,  the  tree  presents  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  pic- 
turesque of  objects. 

But  the  conical  growth  of  trees  is  sometimes  strikingly  ap- 
parent in  their  landscape  character,  or  general  outline  when 
viewed  from  a  distance.  This  is  the  case  in  the  great  Natural 
Order,  Coniferse.  The  trees  belonging  to  this  order  such  as 
(Juniperus  communis)thQ  common  Juniper,  (JuniperusVir- 
giniana)  the  Red  Cedar,  and  the  different  species  of  Fir  and 
Pine,  when  seen  from  a  distance,  are  clearly  conical  in  their 
outline.  This,  in  fact,  is  more  or  less  the  original  form  of  all 
trees  in  the  first  stages  of  their  development.  For,  at  first, 
growth  takes  place  principally  in  the  direction  of  the  leading 
axis  or  stem,  and  the  growth  of  the  branches  is  consequently 
greatly  restricted ;  but  after  a  certain  number  of  years,  the 
stem  obtains  its  maximum  elevation,  and  growth  is  diverted 
to  the  branches.  The  tree  then  loses  its  conical  form  and 
begins  to  spread  out  on  all  sides,  forming,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  Linden  and  Elm,  a  magnificent  dome  or  crown.  In  the 
Coniferse,  however,  development  is  not  carried  so  far,  and 
the  tree  still  retains  its  cone-like  appearance  through  all 
the  stages  of  its  life.  For  this  reason,  as  well  on  account 
of  the  simplicity  of  their  flowers,  these  trees  may  be  con- 
sidered of  a  low  order  of  organization. 

The  leaves  of  the  tree  are  the  true  sources  whence  pro- 
ceeds the  elaborated  formative  material  used  in  the  building 
up  of  its  stem  and  branches.  Now,  this  law  is  plainly  ap- 
parent in  the  single  axis,  the  structure  of  which  depends 
on  the  manner  in  which  the  phytons  are  superposed  and 
combined,  and  in  the  peculiar  arrangement  of -the  vascular 
bundles  below  them.  The  phytons  which  produce  the 
single  axis  are  arranged  spirally  around  the  axis  in  accord- 
ance with  laws  peculiar  to  each  species. 

This  spiral  disposition  of  the  leaves  is  a  provision  for  se- 


62  THE    CONICAL   GROWTH    OF   TREES. 

curing  the  symmetrical  arrangement  of  the  branches  which 
proceed  from  the  buds  in  their  axillae,  and  the  uniform  de- 
position of  the  nourishing  matter  which  proceeds  from  them 
around  the  axis.  For  as  the  wood  is  formed  by  the  leaves, 
when  these  are  placed  in  regular  order  over  every  part  of 
the  circumference  of  the  axis,  as  in  the  Elm,  the  Beech,  and 
the  Linden,  the  branches  and  shoots  are  cylindrical;  for 
the  woody  matter  formed  by  the  leaves  is  then  distributed 
equally  on  all  sides.  On  the  contrary,  when  the  leaves  on 
the  stem  and  branches  are  opposite,  the  pairs  being  placed 
at  right-angles  to  each  other,  as  in  the  Spindle  tree  and 
Maple,  the  descent  of  nourishing  matter  from  the  leaves 
is  necessarily  limited  to  that  portion  of  the  stem  imme- 
diately below  them,  and  consequently  the  young  shoots 
and  branches  of  these  trees  are  square. 

Not  only  the  form  of  the  single  axis,  but  also  the  extent 
to  which  it  is  developed,  depends  on  the  leaves ;  for  when 
their  vital  activity  is  enfeebled,  no  internodes  or  naked  in- 
tervals of  stem  are  formed  between  them,  the  axis  is  redu- 
ced to  a  rudimentary  condition,  and  they  become  crowded 
together  into  little  clusters.  If  the  growth  of  the  axis  is 
thus  arrested,  year  after  year,  it  may  increase  in  length 
slowly ;  but  there  is  no  increase  in  its  breadth  or  thickness. 
A  Beech  branch  now  lies  on  the  table  before  me,  and  I  find 
that  one  of  its  side  branches,  which  is  only  twelve  inches  in 
length,  is  nevertheless  thirty  years  old,  and  yet  it  is  not 
any  thicker  than  one  of  the  young  terminal  shoots  of  the 
same  branch,  which  has  grown  nearly  as  much  in  a  single 
year. 

Hence,  it  will  be  found  that  in  proportion  as  the  length 
of  an  axis  increases  or  decreases  from  year  to  year,  in  the 
same  proportion  is  there  a  corresponding  amount  of  in- 
crease or  decrease  in  the  breadth  of  the  wood-rings  visible 
on  the  cross-section.  In  order  to  verify  this  truth,  it  is 
necessary  to  select  branches,  the  leaves  of  whose  side  axes 
are  annually  put  forth  as  leaf-clusters,  and  which  therefore 
take  a  minimum  of  development,  and  exercise  the  smallest 
possible  amount  of  physiological  influence  on  the  branch, 
and  where  powerful  growths  are  suddenly  succeeded  by 


THE   CONICAL   GROWTH   OF  TREES'.  63 

growths  greatly  retarded.  One  such  branch  now  lies  be- 
fore me,  whose  principal  axis  is  eighteen  inches  long,  and 
whose  side  axes  have  taken  a  minimum  of  development. 

It  grew  the  first  three  years  five  inches  annually,  or  alto- 
gether fifteen  inches ;  but  in  the  last  four  years  the  growth 
stagnated,  or  averaged  only  nine  lines  annually;  and  the 
cross-section  of  the  branch  actually  shows  the  three  inner 
rings  or  woody  layers,  formed  by  the  leaves  of  the  first 
three  years,  to  be  much  broader  than  the  four  outer  rings, 
the  leaf  deposits  of  the  last  four  years. 

The  same  relation  between  the  breadth  of  the  wood-rings 
annually  formed,  and  the  extent  to  which  the  main  axis  is 
developed,  will  still  continue  to  subsist  even  after  the  side 
axes  have  grown  to  some  considerable  extent,  provided 
their  growth  is  accelerated  or  falls  back  together  with  that 
of  the  principal  axis.  If  the  reader  will  refer  to  Figure  2, 
he  will  see  that  the  primary  axis  made  a  considerable  growth 
the  first  three  years,  or  between  1852  and  1855,  and  that 
from  1855  to  1856,  the  growth  of  the  axis  received  a  re- 
markable check,  the  vegetation  of  the  side  axes  being  re- 
tarded at  the  same  time.  ^N~ow,  let  him  look  at  the  rings 
or  breadths  of  the  respective  cones  annually  formed,  which 
are  represented  in  the -cross-section  of  the  axis  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  diagram,  and  he  will  see  that  the  wood-ring  or 
conical  stratum  of  woody  matter  deposited  the  fourth  year, 
is  much  narrower  than  the  other  rings. 

It  is  not,  however,  always  the  case  in  a  system  of  axes, 
that  the  growth  of  the  primary  and  secondary  axes  advances 
or  falls  back  together.  It  not  unfrequently  happens  that 
the  growth  of  the  primary  axis  is  retarded,  whilst  at  the 
same  time  some  of  the  secondary  axes  make  considerable 
headway.  Hence,  when  the  primary  axis  puts  forth  one 
or  more  generations  of  side-shoots,  the  growth  of  each 
must  be  taken  into  consideration  in  estimating  the  amount 
of  wood  formed  by  the  leaves.  A  Beech  branch,  for  ex- 
ample, eighteen  inches  long  and  nineteen  years  old,  shows 
on  the  transverse  section  of  its  wood,  from  within  to  with- 
out, sixteen  narrow  and  then  three  broad  rings.  These 
breadths  of  the  wood-rings  do  not  correspond  with  the  sue- 


64  THE   CONICAL   GROWTH   OF   TREES. 

cessive  annual  growths  in  length  made  by  the  principal 
axis ;  for  in  this  case  quite  another  result  is  obtained,  that 
axis  having  hardly  grown  at  all  after  the  sixteenth  year. 
The  three  broad  wood-rings  last  formed  must  therefore 
have  derived  their  matter  from  the  branches,  and  we  find 
on  examining  the  side  axes,  which  are  thirty-three  in 
number,  that  eleven  of  them,  formed  the  last  three  years, 
are  the  most  developed ;  to  these  is  therefore  to  be  attri- 
buted the  three  broad  wood-rings. 

The  above  investigations  would  seem  to  lead  irresistibly 
to  the  conclusion,  that  the  breadth  of  the  wood-rings  is 
determined  not  only  by  the  activity  of  the  leaves  of  the 
terminal  shoot  of  the  axis,  but  that  the  leaves  of  the  side 
axes,  or  of  the  whole  system  of  axes,  co-operate,  and  there- 
fore that  the  leafage  of  each  season  forms  a  common  source, 
whence  is  derived  not  only  the  nutriment  forming  the  new 
layer  or  covering  of  each  individual  branch  or  system  of 
axes,  but  of  the  main  axis  or  support  of  the  whole  of  them 
— the  stem.  For  not  only  each  leaf,  but  each  twig,  branch- 
let,  and  branch  contributes  its  part,  during  the  season  of 
vegetative  activity,  to  the  formation  of  this  new  conical 
layer  or  woody  mantle,  with  which  the  tree  is  annually  re- 
clothed  from  the  tops  of  its  branches  to  the  extremities  of 
its  roots, — a  new  garment  of  unity,  so  to  speak. 

A  clear  conception  of  the  entire  process  of  this  annual 
renovation,  can  only  be  obtained  by  giving  due  prominence 
to  the  fact,  that  the  growth  and  life  of  the  tree  after  the 
first  year  is  entirely  superficial,  and  totally  confined  to  the 
forming  stratum  of  new  bark  and  wood.  The  bark  and 
wood-cells  constituting  the  growth  of  each  year,  die  when 
their  vital  activity  ceases  in  the  Fall.  There  is  no  renewal 
of  their  life  on  the  return  of  Spring ;  for,  as  we  have  al- 
ready stated  on  page  44,  "  So  soon  as  a  cell  ceases  to  form 
new  cells,  or  to  develope  and  carry  nourishing  matter,  so 
soon  as  its  fluid  contents  disappear  and  it  becomes  filled 
with  air,  it  maybe  considered  as  dead."  Now,  this  is  pre- 
cisely the  condition  of  the  duct-cells,  and  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent of  the  fibre-cells,  at  the  end  of  the  first  year.  They 
are  fully  formed  the  first  year,  and  when  the  life  of  the 


THE   CONICAL   GROWTH   OF   TREES.  65 

tree  is  reawakened  in  the  Spring  of  the  next  year,  they  no 
longer  grow,  or  assimilate  formative  material.  They  are 
dead,  rigid,  unyielding.  For  the  sap  is  drawn  away  from 
these  old  and  full-grown  tissues,  by  the  young  and  newly- 
forming  stratum  of  hark  and  wood,  and  although  its  flow 
through  the  finer  capillary  vessels  of  the  fibre-cells  may 
b£  again  renewed, — this  flow  arises  from  causes  purely  me- 
chanical,— -there  is  no  assimilation  of  formative  material. 
In  fact,  the  only  change  that  takes  place  in  the  fibre-cells 
after  the  first  year,  is  the  gradual  filling  up  of  their  cavi- 
ties by  deposits  of  lignine  or  earthy  matter,  whilst  the  duct- 
cells,  being  devoid  of  sap,  after  the  first  year  are  never 
filled  up,  as  inspection  plainly  shows. 

Let  the  reader  again  refer  to  the  diagram,  which  shows, 
not  only  the  conical  growth  of  the  primary  axis  of  the  branch, 
but  also  the  conical  growths  of  its  secondary  and  tertiary 
axes,  or  branchlets  and  twigs,  and  how  they  are  connected 
with  the  primary  axis.  Commencing  with  the  first,  second, 
or  third  ring  from  the  outside,  which  form  the  foundation  of 
three  successive  conical  deposits,  and  tracing  them  upward 
ovver  the  summits  of  each  branch  and  branchlet,  he  will  find 
that  each  forms  a  continuous  and  unbroken  bed  of  woody 
matter ;  and  he  will  easily  understand,  when  the  tree  grows 
again  in  spring  (if  we  suppose  the  thick  exterior  and 
bounding  line  of  the  diagram  to  represent  the  newly-form- 
ing stratum  of  bark  and  wood-cells),  how,  from  different 
points  of  the  surface  newly-forming  on  the  last  year's 
branches  and  branchlets,  fresh  shoots  may  be  pushed 
forth.  It  is  thus,  as  the  tree  continues  to  grow,  that  a 
series  of  new  and  more  extensive  communications  are 
annually  opened  with  that  grand  reservoir  of  vegetable 
food,  the  atmosphere ;  and  the  newly-deposited  living 
stratum  is  just  as  continuous  as  that  of  former  years,  and 
its  life  passes  away  with  the  falling  of  the  leaves.  For  it  is 
the  leaves  which  are  the  source  of  the  formative  material 
which  proceeds  from  them  to  the  shoots,  from  the  shoots  to 
the  branchlets,  and  from  the  branchlets  to  the  branches, 
whose  union  forms  the  main  stem  of  the  tree,  just  as  a 
thousand  little  streamlets,  descending  from  mountain  and 

5 


66  THE   CONICAL   GROWTH   OF  TREES. 

hill,  pour  together  their  tributary  waters,  which,  united, 
form  the  hroad  river  which  rolls  on  to  the  ocean. 

But,  although  the  number  of  leaves  of  the  whole  tree,  as 
of  each  branch,  from  year  to  year  continues  to  increase, 
yet  the  thickness  of  the  conical  layers,  after  a  certain  point 
of  time  in  the  development  of  the  main  axis  or  stem,  as 
regularly  diminishes.  The  cause  of  this  decrease  in  the 
breadth  of  the  wood-rings  arises  from  the  fact,  that  the 
surface  of  the  enveloping  cones  continually  increases  as 
the  tree  gets  older,  so  that  the  formative  material,  from 
the  leaves,  is  spread  over  a  more  and  more  extended  area. 
E"ow,  up  to  a  certain  period  in  the  life  of  the  tree,  the  in- 
crease of  leaf-surface  in  the  atmosphere  keeps  pace  with  the 
gradually  increasing  surface  of  the  cones,  and  this  produces 
that  uniformity  of  breadth  which  characterizes  the  wood- 
rings  formed  each  season  ;  but,  when  the  main  stem  and 
branches  of  the  tree  approach  the  maximum  of  their  deve- 
lopment, owing  to  the  diminished  vital  activity  of  the  leaves, 
less  woody  matter  is  formed,  which  still  continues  to  be 
spread  over  a  constantly  increasing  extent  of  conical  sur- 
face ;  hence  the  thickness  of  the  woody  strata  gradually 
diminishes  as  the  tree  draws  nearer  to  the  limit  of  its  life. 

It  is  thus  that,  in  the  course  of  centuries,  solid  and  en- 
during vegetable  monuments  are  reared;  trees  which  out- 
live the  successive  generations  of  man — broad  at  the  base 
and  tapering  to  the  extremities.  Nature  builds  on  the 
conical  principle  to  insure  their  stability ;  and  the  dark 
and  sombre  forests  of  oak,  pine,  and  fir,  which  clothe  the 
sides  of  mountain,  whose  summits  rise  above  the  snow- 
line,  are  constructed  on  the  same  architectural  principles 
as  the  mountains  themselves ;  for  the  avalanche  loosening 
from  its  mountain  heights,  and  coming  down  with  an  ac- 
celerated rush  into  the  subjacent  valleys,  and  the  leaf 
falling  from  the  tree,  are  both  detached  from  cones.  Such 
is  the  beauty,  simplicity,  and  grandeur  of  the  works  of 
Nature  ! 

Reader,  startle  not  at  the  boldness  of  this  language.  It 
is  strictly  true.  Great  and  little  are  but  relative  terms, 
distinctions  made  by  finite  and  imperfect  minds.  Sir 


THE   LAWS   OF   SOCIAL   INEQUALITY.  67 

John  Herschel,  in  his  admirable  "  Preliminary  Discourse 
on  the  Study  of  Natural  Philosophy,"  says,  page  173  : — 
"  The  student  who  makes  any  progress  in  the  study  of 
natural  philosophy  will  encounter  numberless  cases  in 
which  this  transfer  of  ideas  from  one  extreme  of  magni- 
tude to  the  other  is  called  for.  He  will  find,  for  instance, 
the  phenomena  of  the  propagation  of  winds  referred  to 
the  same  laws  which  regulate  the  propagation  of  motion 
through  the  smallest  masses  of  air ;  those  of  lightning  as- 
similated to  the  mere  communication  of  an  electric  spark, 
and  those  of  earthquakes  to  the  vibrations  of  a  stretched 
wire.  In  short,  he  must  lay  his  account  to  finding  the  dis- 
tinctions of  great  and  little  altogether  annihilated  in  na- 
ture." 


CHAPTER  Y. 

THOSE  NATURAL  CAUSES  WHICH  PRODUCE  THE  INEQUALITY  IN 
THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  BRANCHES  AND  BUDS  OF  A  TREE, 
ILLUSTRATE  CLEARLY  THE  LAWS  OF  SOCIAL  INEQUALITY  AND 
SUBORDINATION  IN  CIVILIZED  COMMUNITIES. 

WHEN  we  see  defined  against  the  clear,  cold  winter's 
heaven,  the  leafless  branches  and  branchlets  of  a  tree,  it 
is  hardly  possible  to  imagine  anything  which  is  apparently 
so  chaotic  and  irregular. 

There  are  branches  and  twigs  of  all  possible  degrees  of 
growth,  mingled  together  without  any  apparent  order.  It 
is  a  complete  labyrinth  of  ramification — an  inextricable 
maze,  perplexing  and  without  a  charm.  Yet  there  is  no- 
thing even  here  that  is  random  or  confused.  Everything 
about  a  tree  is  constructed  according  to  plan  and  system. 
Even  this  apparent  chaos  of  branches,  with  their  innume- 
rable branchlets  and  twigs,  is  no  exception. 

If  we  would  obtain  a  clear  and  satisfactory  perception 
of  the  causes  which  have  produced  all  this  infinite  variety 
of  ramification,  and  trace  out  plan  and  system  in  every  twig, 
branchlet,  and  branch,  we  must  go  back  to  first  principles. 
We  must  study  the  tree  in  the  earlier  periods  of  its  life — 


68  THE   LAWS   OF   SOCIAL   INEQUALITY 

in  the  lower  stages  of  its  development ;  we  must  go  back 
to  the  first  year's  growth.  The  unequal  development  of 
the  shoots  from  the  sides  and  summits  of  the  primary 
vegetable  cone,  is  the  cause  of  a  subsequent  inequality, 
which  has  gone  on  increasing  with  the  growth  and  life  of 
the  tijee.  The  branches  were,  the  first  year,  all  equally 
feeble  and  powerless ;  sheltered  beneath  the  covering 
leaves,  which  kept  watchful  sentinel  over  the  growing 
points  of  the  first  year's  shoot,  through  many  a  cold  and 
dreary  winter's  day  and  still  more  stormy  night.  Then 
came  spring,  warm  and  welcome.  The  sentinel  leaves 
were  removed  from  the  post  of  duty,  the  new  leaves  and 
shoots  were  unfolded  from  the  buds.  But  from  the  very 
first  there  is  the  same  principle  of  subordination  as  clearly 
apparent  among  the  shoots  as  amongst  the  leaves.  Just 
as  the  sap,  elaborated  in  the  lower  leaves  of  the  first  shoot, 
contributed  to  the  formation  of  the  upper  leaves,  so  the 
inferior  buds  either  remain  sterile  or  unfold  simply  as  un- 
branched  shoots  or  leaf-clusters,  because  they  are  subordi- 
nate to  the  development  of  the  upper  buds  which  attract 
the  sap  away  from  them.  The  most  considerable  growths 
or  shoots  are  therefore  made  by  the  bud  at  the  summit  of 
the  first  year's  shoot  and  the  side-buds  situated  in  imme- 
diate neighborhood.  It  is  plain  that  all  the  buds  of  the 
first  year's  shoot  are  equally  exposed  to  the  air  and  the 
sun's  influence.  The  inequality  in  their  development  must 
therefore  originate  in  a  principle  of  subordination  and  sub- 
serviency in  the  lower  leaf-buds  to  the  upper  ones. 

Now,  these  peculiarly  abbreviated  forms  of  the  shoot 
play  an  important  part  in  the  building  up  of  the  tree-form. 
All  the  little  twigs  which  fill  up  the  space  between  the 
larger  branches,  and  which  are  so  plainly  visible  when  they 
are  deprived  of  their  leaf  ornaments,  have  proceeded  from 
buds  which  take  a  minimum  of  development,  and  unfold 
year  after  year  simply  as  leaf-clusters.  There  is  no  side 
production.  On  the  contrary,  the  whole  of  the  vital  energy 
of  the  leaves  is  expended  in  the  formation  of  the  enlarged 
terminal  bud,  and  in  supplying  the  upper  and  more  deve- 
loped shoots  and  branches  with  sap. 


AND    SUBORDINATION.  69 

The  leaf-clusters  which  form  those  rudimentary  shoofs 
give  a  marked  character  to  the  foliage  of  trees.  Not  only 
are  the  Pines  indebted  to  them  for  the  green  clothing 
which  covers  their  branches,  but  they  fill  up  and  relieve 
the  (comparatively  speaking)  naked  intervals  of  stem,  be- 
tween the  more  powerfully  developed  branches,  with  foli- 
age. The  Beech,  Cherry,  Linden,  and  Hazel,  especially 
derive  their  thick  leaf-drapery  from  the  copious  develop- 
ment of  these  leaf-clusters  or  rudimentary  side-shoots ; 
and  the  light  and  slenderly  clad  leafage,  so  characteristic 
of  the  Birch,  is  to  be  attributed  to  their  early  decay  and 
removal  from  the  stem  and  branches.  They  appear  to  be 
entirely  absent  from  the  Willow. 

These  rudimentary  shoots  may  continue  at  a  minimum  of 
development,  and  (as  in  the  Beech  and  Cherry)  for  ten, 
twelve,  or  even  twenty  years,  unfold  leaf-clusters  from  their 
terminal  bud.  But  when  the  growth  of  a  branch  stagnates 
in  this  manner,  its  life  must  be  necessarily  greatly  abbrevia- 
ted. Sooner  or  later  it  gradually  pines  and  dies ;  the  terminal 
bud  at  last  ceasing  to  have  the  power  to  unfold  itself.  The 
dead  twigs  are  then  removed  by  the  wind  or  other  natural 
agents,  and  leave  behind  them  those  naked  intervals  of  stem 
visible  between  the  main  branches. 

Hence,  the  peculiarly  whorled  appearance  which  bran- 
ches present  on  the  main  axis  or  stem,  which  is  so  well 
marked  on  some  trees,  that  an  experienced  woodman  can 
approximate  in  some  measure  to  a  correct  estimate  of  their 
age,  when  he  views  them  from  a  distance,  by  counting  the 
intervals  of  unbranched  stem  between  the  several  whorls  of 
branches. 

The  same  inequality  in  the  development  of  the  shoots  may 
be  traced  also,  to  some  extent,  on  the  main  side  axes  or 
branches,  and  is  to  be  attributed  to  the  same  cause,  viz. : 
the  development  of  the  upper  buds  into  shoots,  and  the 
unfolding  of  the  lower  buds  into  leaf-clusters ;  but  as  the 
branches  and  branchlets  are  necessarily  younger  than  the 
main  axis  or  stem  with  which  they  are  connected,  the  work 
of  removal  has  not  progressed  to  the  same  extent,  and  the 
dead,  as  well  as  the  living  twigs,  still  fill  up  the  intervals 


70  THE   LAWS   OF   SOCIAL   INEQUALITY 

which  separate  the  more  powerfully  developed  shoots  and 
branches  from  each  other. 

The  struggle  for  superiority  then  commences  with  the 
second  year's  growth.  It  is  at  this  time  that  all  the  branches 
make  the  same  start  in  life.  At  the  close  of  the  second  year, 
the  upper  buds  developed  from  the  axillae  of  the  upper  leaves, 
have  produced  shoots,  the  lower  only  leaf-clusters ;  the  for- 
mer have  therefore  got  considerably  ahead  of  the  latter,  du- 
ring the  same  period  of  time.  An  in  equality  has  been  gene- 
rated, which  increases  more  and  more  every  year.  The  third 
year,  the  terminal  bud  of  the  lower  shoots  unfolds  again  as 
a  leaf-cluster;  but  the  upper  shoots  become  mother  shoots, 
developing  from  the  buds,  at  their  sides  and  summits,  other 
shoots  like  themselves.  It  is  thus  they  continue  progressing 
from  year  to  year,  until  they  ultimately  become  those  power- 
ful branches  which  form,  as  it  were,  the  prop  or  scaffolding 
of  the  crown  or  spreading  top,  and  no  inconsiderable  part 
of  the  entire  tree  itself. 

The  lower  buds,  on  the  contrary,  developed  from  the 
axillae  of  the  lower  leaves,  make  no  headway,  but  continue 
in  the  same  fix,  year  after  year,  pining  in  poverty  and  in- 
activity. There  is  no  difficulty  in  finding  any  quantity  of 
such  miserable  starveling  shoots  on  the  branches  of  the 
Beech,  the  Horse-Chestnut,  the  Apple,  and  other  trees. 
The  current  of  sap  is  drawn  away  from  them  by  the  upper 
and  more  powerful  branches,  and  there  is  not  a  particle  of 
chance  left  for  them  except  in  the  excision  or  death  of  the 
upper  branches. 

We  have  seen  that  the  tree,  during  the  first  year  of  its  life, 
has  only  a  poor  chance  of  progress,  on  account  of  the  few 
leaves  which  it  has  at  work  in  the  air,  and  that,  when  it  has 
arrived  at  the  stage  of  development  prefigured  by  one  of  its 
branches,  it  possesses  a  much  greater  amount  of  vitally  act- 
ive leaf-surface,  and  consequently  its  growth  becomes  more 
rapid,  and  its  chances  of  arriving  at  maturity  multiplied  a 
thousandfold.  ISTow,  the  same  relative  condition  of  things 
exists  between  these  pitiful  twigs  and  powerful  branches, 
with  reference  to  their  respective  means  of  obtaining  food, 
as  existed  between  the  tree  and  nature  during  the  first  year 


AND    SUBORDINATION.  71 

of  its  life,  and  again  at  the  end  of  twenty  or  thirty  years. 
What  chance  have  simple  shoots  with  a  few  leaves,  the 
normal  growth  of  one  year  against  powerful  branches  which 
are,  it  may  be,  the  growth  of  centuries,  which  put  forth  a 
hundred  shoots,  like  themselves,  from  their  sides  and  sum- 
mit, the  leaves  of  which  are  all  subservient  to  their  deve- 
lopment ?  It  is  plain  that  inequality  of  condition,  once  en- 
gendered, has  a  tendency  to  go  on  increasing,  and  that 
the  shoots  and  branches  of  a  tree,  when  once  ahead,  are 
very  apt  to  keep  ahead. 

And  is  there  nothing  analogous  to  this  in  the  social  world  ? 
Is  not  the  whole  framework  of  our  present  social  system 
founded  on  the  eternally  unchangeable  law  of  the  subor- 
dination and  subserviency  of  one  human  organism  to 
another  ?  In  order  to  be  happy,  man  must  be  free  to  de- 
velope  himself.  But  individual  freedom  must  necessarily 
generate  inequality  so  long  as  one  human  organism 'has 
more  life-energy  than  another.  We  see  the  results  of  this 
inequality  of  natural  gift  in  a  common  school,  where  all  are 
placed  in  the  same  circumstances  and  on  an  equal  footing. 
What  a  remarkable  difference  in  the  aptness  of  boys  for 
particular  branches  of  study !  With  what  rapidity  and 
apparent  ease  some  get  through  the  tasks  allotted  them ! 
How  slow  and  wearisome  the  progress  made  by  others ! 
Undoubtedly  the  diligent  and  attentive  student  is  generally, 
at  the  end  of  the  term,  the  most  advanced  in  his  class.  But 
even  in  a  well-regulated  school,  where  industrious  habits 
are  carefully  cultivated,  where  the  strictest  discipline  is 
rigidly  enforced,  and  where  all  are  not  only  expected  but 
actually  made  to  study,  there  is  the  same  variety  in  the 
natural  capacities  of  the  scholars — the  same  striking  diver- 
sity in  their  intellectual  progress.  When  reference  is  made 
to  the  standing  of  each  at  the  commencement  and  then  at 
the  close  of  the  session,  some  boys  have  got  far  ahead  of 
the  others  in  the  same  branch,  notwithstanding  those  who 
have  had  the  misfortune  to  fall  back  in  their  class,  have  not 
unfrequently  received  the  greatest  share  of  the  time  and 
attention  of  their  teacher.  Thus,  notwithstanding  the  oft- 
cited  saying  of  Euclid,  "  There  is  no  royal  road  to  learn- 


72  THE   LAWS   OF   SOCIAL   INEQUALITY 

ing,"  it  is  undeniable  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  an 
innate  or  natural  intellectual  and  moral  superiority  of  ca- 
pacity possessed  by  one  man  over  another. 

Now  what  takes  place  in  a  school,  in  a  small  way,  is 
only  carried  out  on  a  grander  scale  in  the  great  school  of 
the  world.  Bat  here,  from  the  commencement,  the  most 
talented  are  usually  the  least  favored  by  fortune.  They 
enter  on  the  active  duties  of  life  under  great  pecuniary 
disadvantages;  but  superior  ability  and  energy  will  as- 
suredly, sooner  or  later,  give  them  pre-eminence.  It  is 
not  long  that  the  c.ontest  remains  doubtful.  Nothing  can 
withstand  their  onward  progress.  In  vain  you  try  to  keep 
them  down.  As  well  might  a  fly  attempt  to  stop  the  ad- 
vance of  the  mail  train  from  "Washington.  Enterprising 
business  men  soon  learn  to  know  and  esteem  each  other. 
There  is  a  congeniality  of  disposition  which  inspires  mu- 
tual confidence.  It  is  then  that  capital  combines  with 
capital.  Contracts  are  made,  and  the  most  extensive 
public  works  are  executed.  Banking  establishments  are 
carried  on  all  over  the  country ;  they  gain  the  almost  un- 
limited confidence  of  the  community.  It  is  thus  that  com- 
mercial power  is  slowly  and  surely  accumulated,  until 
finally  merchant  princes  become  a  stern  reality.  Yet 
every  enterprise,  great  or  small,  has  its  master-spirit — the 
main  axis  or  stem  from  which  the  lesser  branches  proceed ; 
for  the  laws  of  nature  remain  invariably  the  same.  Men 
will  pay  homage  to  merit.  They  ever  will  cheerfully  sub- 
ordinate themselves  to  superior  ability. 

Nothing,  therefore,  can  be  more  erroneous  than  the  idea 
that,  in  order  to  preserve  the  present  system  of  inequality, 
it  is  necessary  to  keep  a  certain  portion  of  the  human  race 
in  ignorance.  This  is  very  bad  policy,  as  well  as  a  viola- 
tion of  the  natural  rights  of  man.  Let  us  look  at  the  tree 
again ;  for  nature  is  best  interpreted  by  a  reference  to  na- 
ture. "We  have,  in  every  tree,  a  deeply  interesting  and  in- 
structive combination  of  industrial  forces  which  illustrates 
clearly  a  perfect  system  of  mutual  dependency  and  subor- 
dination. No  part  of  the  tree  is  unemployed  or  unimpor- 
tant. The  poorest  branch  and  bud-scales,  stipule  and 


AND   SUBORDINATION.  73 

starveling  shoot,  as  well  as  the  powerful  branch  with  its 
innumerable  branchlets,  rich  in  sap  and  luxuriant  in  foli- 
age, have  helped  to  build  up  that  tree.  Each  has  labored 
to  the  extent  of  its  capacity,  and  has  done  some  good  to  the 
community,  although  it  may  be  only  a  little. 

In  like  manner  it  is  for  the  interest  of  society  that  all 
the  varied  talents  of  its  individual  members  should  be 
called  forth  and  employed.  Some  authors  have  written 
on  human  perfectibility,  as  if  all  men  could  be  made  phi- 
losophers, statesmen,  orators,  poets,  &c.  But  this  is  con- 
trary to  all  analogy.  Among  all  the  forms  of  life,  there 
is  variety  in  the  degree  of  development,  and  man  is  no 
exception.  All  men  are  subject  to  the  same  general  laws, 
yet  it  is  undeniable  that  there  is  an  individuality  about 
each,  and  that  their  mental  capabilities  and  dispositions 
are  as  dissimilar  as  their  faces.  Life,  in  fact,  is  but  the  un- 
folding of  the  peculiar  laws  of  the  individual  organism. 

As  we  progress  in  science  and  civilization,  more  and 
more  of  this  individual  talent  will  be  evolved.  Any  in- 
stitutions which  are  calculated  to  call  it  forth,  are  a  bless- 
ing to  the  world.  They  ought  to  be  encouraged.  The  men 
who  found  them  will  live  in  the  memory  of  mankind. 
Hence,  Public  Schools,  Lyceums  of  Natural  History,  and 
such  institutions  as  have  for  their  object  the  dissemination 
of  knowledge  amongst  the  people,  are  all  movements  in 
the  right  direction.  ]^et  the  fountains  of  knowledge  be 
made  as  public  as  possible,  so  that  all  may  drink  freely. 
Let  the  healing  streams  be  circulated  in  all  directions, 
until  they  impart  their  treasures  to  every  destitute  locality ; 
for  it  is  certain  that  there  is  no  man,  however  poorly  gifted, 
who  may  not  be  made  a  useful  citizen  if  those  gifts  are 
properly  cultivated. 

It  is  not  possible  that  the  community  should  be  disturbed 
in  its  present  social  relations  by  this  generous  diffusion  of 
information.  Depend  upon  it,  inequality  of  condition  is 
an  eternal,  unchangeable  law  of  nature.  It  does  not  admit 
of  a  doubt,  that  some  men  are  much  more  richly  endowed 
with  native  talent  and  energy  than  others,  and  these  will 
always  be  the  leading  branches  in  the  social  tree  ;  others 


74  THE    LAWS   OF   SOCIAL   INEQUALITY 

must  and  will  naturally  take  an  inferior  and  subordinate 
position.  But  the  branch,  if  it  grows  for  centuries,  will 
never  equal  the  entire  tree  in  size,  and  the  branchlet  must 
ever  continue  smaller  than  the  branch.  For  each  has  its 
own  limit  of  growth  prescribed  by  Nature,  according  to  a 
morphological  law  which  it  cannot  pass,  even  under  the 
most  favorable  circumstances,  and  by  means  of  which  each 
is  rendered  subservient  to  the  growth  of  the  other.  So,  if 
we  suppose  all  to  have  the  advantages  of  a  liberal  educa- 
tion, the  variety  of  gift  and  intellectual  capacity  amongst 
mankind  will  still  remain  unchangeably  the  same,  and 
therefore  their  social  position  with  reference  to  each  other. 
There  will,  however,  be  this  important  advantage  gained; 
each  will  be  rendered  more  capable  of  discharging  the 
duties  of  that  position  in  life  in  which  it  has  pleased  Pro- 
.vidence  to  place  them ;  and  thus  the  whole  community  will 
be  benefited  by  the  prosperity  of  its  individual  members. 
It  has  been  proved  that  there  will  ever  be  subordination. 
But  as  man  is  naturally  a  selfish  being,  blind  submission 
to  superior  talent  and  energy  is  not  to  be  thought  of  for  a 
moment.  It  has  been  well  said  that  "  History  is  Philoso- 
phy teaching  by  example ;"  now,  History  teaches  most 
impressively  the  social  evils  which  were  formerly  pro- 
duced by  a  monopoly  of  religious  and  political  power.  Is 
it  possible  to  imagine  any  religious  tyranny  more  execrable 
than  that  which  existed  before  the  Reformation  ?  Priests 
were  then  the  jailors  of  the  human  mind ;  they  wielded 
powers  so  enormous,  that  the  greatest  monarchs  of  the 
earth  trembled  before  them.  Whe*n  first  attacked,  terrible 
were  the  struggles  of  this  religious  despotism !  What  brute 
force  was  employed  !  What  disgraceful  and  cruel  persecu- 
tions !  Who  originated  the  Inquisition,  with  its  hellish 
tortures,  and  dungeons  with  walls  built'  purposely  thick 
to  deaden  the  shrieks  of  suffering  men  and  women  ? 
The  philosopher  Copernicus  withholding  his  discoveries 
through  terror  of  this  tyranny,  during  his  lifetime,  from 
mankind,  and  only  consenting  to  their  publication  on  his 
death-bed !  And  the  venerable  Galileo  imprisoned  and 
compelled  to  adjure  as  errors,  what  are  now  known  to  be 


AND   SUBORDINATION.  75 

truths  !  Religious  liberty !  at  what  an  immense  sacrifice 
of  life  has  this  precious  element  of  human  happiness 
been  purchased  !  Happily,  the  monopoly  of  religicfus 
power  has  been  broken  down,  and  the  utmost  diversity  of 
religious  belief  now  prevails.  The  claims  of  different  op- 
posing religious  sects  are  carefully  examined,  and  men  are 
becoming  daily  more  tolerant  and  less  fanatic. 

"Not  less  instructive  is  History  in  reference  to  that  mono- 
poly of  political  power  which  formerly  prevailed.  "What 
numberless  calamities  has  it  showered  down  on  the  human 
race  !  There  was  a  time  when  the  people  were  inherited 
like  sheep,  when  they  had  no  significance  as  individuals. 
The  interests  of  the  most  industrious  and  useful  portion  of 
mankind  were  staked  in  perpetual  games  of  war,  in  order 
to  build  up  the  family  of  the  king  of  the  country,  and  bring 
new  territories  under  his  yoke.  But  after  awhile  the  wealth 
produced  by  the  toiling  masses,  began  to  be  so  important 
to  the  comfort  and  enterprises  undertaken  by  these  fight- 
ing monarchs,  that  they  were  forced  gradually  to  concede 
them  a  certain  degree  of  political  liberty  which  they  had 
not  previously  enjoyed.  The  grand  idea  of  human  rights 
now  forced  its  way  into  despotisms,  and  then  came  the 
fierce  struggle  for  political  freedom,  and  on  many  a  battle- 
field patriotic  blood  was  poured  forth  like  water, — the  best 
and  bravest  of  the  human  race  expired.  At  last  it  was  con- 
ceded that  the  people  had  rights  and  liberties  which  must 
be  respected:  that  government  exists  for  the  benefit  of  the 
people,  and  not  the  people  for  the  benefit  of  the  govern- 
ment. That  nations  are  the  masters  of  their  own  destinies. 
And  now  on  this  continent  we  have  the  glorious  spectacle 
of  a  people  governed  by  one  of  their  own  choice,  and  yet 
progressing  in  science  and  civilization. 

Political  and  religious  liberty  has  been  obtained ;  but 
human  nature  has  not  changed,  and  there  still  exist  among 
us  the  same  tendencies  to  the  despotism  of  bygone  ages. 
It  is  well  known  that  there  is  a  class  of  men  in  our  midst, 
who  want  to  do  our  religious  thinking  for  us  as  in  former 
times ;  and  it  is  also  well  known  that  there  are  those  who 
would  abridge  popular  liberty,  who  are  ever  seeking  to  re- 


76  THE   LAWS    OF    SOCIAL   INEQUALITY 

cover  lost  political  influence.  These  powers  are  extending 
themselves  secretly  in  all  directions,  struggling  fiercely  for 
pre-eminence.  Man  has  broken  his  chains,  he  has  escaped 
from  his  dungeon,  and  every  effort  is  now  made  to  effect  his 
recapture.  Pie  will  not  let  us  think  for  him  now.  He  con- 
siders that  he  is  quite  capable  of  thinking  for  himself.  He 
considers  that  he  is  at  perfect  liberty  to  have  an  opinion  or 
belief  of  his  own,  uncontrolled  by  any  other  man  or  set  of 
men.  Such  is  the  language  of  the  foe,  as  treacherous, 
despotic,  cruel,  and  unyielding  as  ever,  whose  power  origi- 
nated solely  in  the  ignorance  and  darkness  of  former  ages. 
Man  is  no  longer  a  poor  degraded  captive,  devoid  of  great- 
ness of  soul,  of  reason,  and  of  virtue.  He  is  free  now  !  He 
loves  science,  and  nature,  and  truth !  Is  he  going  to  sur- 
render the  precious  rights  of  religious  and  political  liberty, 
purchased  by  the  blood  of  so  many  patriots  and  martyrs  ? 
Who  are  these  men  who  wish  to  do  our  religious  thinking 
for  us  ?  They  (and  their  ancestors  before  them,  about  whom 
they  talk  so  much)  are  mortal  men  who  sicken  and  die  like 
ourselves,  and  the  probabilities  are  that  they  are,  one  and 
all,  just  as  liable  to  form  erroneous  opinions  as  any  other 
men.  Religious  infallibility  on  the  one  hand,  and  blind 
submission  of  the  understanding  on  the  other — there  has 
been  already  too  much  of  it.  Surely,  the  very  remembrance 
of  the  follies  of  their  fathers,  in  this  respect,  has  made  the 
present  generation  wiser.  Before  the  light  of  science  and 
true  religion*  these  delusions  are  passing  away  like  a  cloud. 

But  the  people  are  interested  in  putting  down  tyrannical 
monopolies,  not  only  in  religion  and  government,  but  in 
commerce.  Commercial  tyranny  is  as  great  a  curse  as  the 
former  despotisms  in  religion  and  politics  which  have  been 
subjugated. 

Two  hundred  years  ago,  war  with  its  interests  absorbed 
the  attention  of  mankind  ;  but  now  society  has  completely 
changed  it  character,  and  become  commercial  and  industrial 
in  its  spirit.  Strife  is  therefore  transported  to  this  new  field ; 
and,  as  man  is  still  the  same  fighting  animal  he  ever  was, 

*  ll  Therefore  all  things  whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you, 
do  ye  even  so  to  them  •  for  this  is  the  law  and  the  prophets."— Matt.  7:12. 


AND    SUBORDINATION.  77 

it  is  now  a  war  of  industry  and  all  its  elements.  Property 
is  the  prize  for  whieh  all  are  straining  their  nerves. 

But  commercial  power  accumulated  in  the  hands  of  any 
one  man,  or  body  of  men,  is  ever  dangerous  to  liberty.  Who 
does  not  know  that  the  love  of  power  is  natural  to  man,  and 
that  he  is  apt  to  abuse  the  confidence  that  is  reposed  in  him  ? 
Man  is  naturally  a  selfish  being.  Men  do  not  change  their 
nature  when  they  combine  their  efforts  and  become  share- 
holders. Merchant  princes  are  no  exception.  Personal  in- 
terest is  undoubtedly  the  moving  power  of  the  actions  of 
one  and  all  of  them.  That  they  confer  benefits  on  the  com- 
munity is  not  denied.  Their  canvas  is  swelling  on  every 
sea,  and  their  merchandise  is  coming  to  us  from  every  shore! 
Yet,  is  the  power  thus  accumulated  in  the  hands  of  a  few 
used  only  for  the  good  of  the  many  ?  Is  it  not  undeniable 
that  banking  and  other  extensive  establishments  are  not 
to  be  trusted  ?  that  they  are  apt  to  get  a  little  too  much 
ahead  ?  And  do  not  you  think,  reader,  that  these  leading 
branches  in  the  Social  Tree  require  to  be  looked  after,  and 
that  a  little  occasional  pruning  of  them  would  be  a  public 
benefit  ? 

No  man,  or  body  of  men  can  get  much  ahead  in  any 
pursuit  without  retarding  the  progress  of  others  in  the  same 
ratio.  Every  man  who  commences  business  in  a  small  way 
knows  that  he  has,  in  the  large  capitalist,  a  dangerous  com- 
petitor. And  he  is  quite  right.  Customers  will  always  go 
to  those  places  where  they  can  get  the  cheapest  and  best 
goods.  They  think  it  is  their  interest  to  do  so.  Hence, 
they  go  to  the  man  who  has  the  most  money,  who  can 
better  afford  to  buy  in  larger  quantities  than  the  small 
trader,  and  who  is  therefore  able  to  accommodate  them 
with  better  goods  at  the  same  or  a  lower  price.  It  is  thus 
that  poor  men  refuse  to  stand  by  each  other,  bow  their 
necks  to  tyrants,  and  kiss  the  rod  of  the  oppressor.  People 
are  attracted  to  the  richly-furnished  store ;  and,  for  the 
sake  of  a  temporary  advantage,  they  take  their  money  to 
those  who  have  more  than  enough,  and  refuse  to  patronize 
the  small  trader.  Hence,  inequality  of  condition,  once 
engendered,  is  very  apt  to  go  on  increasing,  until  finally 


78  THE    LAWS    OF   SOCIAL   INEQUALITY 

we  see  human  forms,  members  of  the  same  great  social 
family,  clad  in  silks  and  rags — dwelling  in  hovels  and 
palaces !  ISTow,  this  is  all  wrong !  There  is  no  absolute 
necessity  for  these  social  disfigurements.  They  are  a  disgrace 
to  Christianity.  They  show  that  our  present  commercial 
system  is  not  a  wisely-ordered  one.  Starveling  shoots  ! 
the  Social  Tree  is  full  of  them.  Are  there  not  thousands 
of  human  beings  who  toil  from  earliest  morn  to  latest 
night,  and  never  make  any  headway  ?  Do  they  not  con- 
tinue  in  the  same  fix  for  life,  subservient  to  the  interest  of 
a  branch  which  is  more  developed  than  themselves  ;  and 
this  branch  holds  the  same  relation  to  some  other  branch 
for  which  it  has  to  work?  And  what  is  society  but  a  tree,, 
an  association  of  branches,  where  all  co-operate  in  build- 
ing up  its  structure  and  in  advancing  its  arts,  its  sciences, 
and  civilization  ?  You  cannot  deny  the  analogy.  Yes, 
and  there  are  monopolizing  branches  which  get  too  much 
sap,  and  require  pruning.  For  this  thing  has  its  foundation 
in  Nature,  and  we  must  look  to  Nature  for  a  remedy.  Are 
there  not  men  in  every  community  with  a  superabundance 
of  life-energy,  whose  progress  in  wealth  and  in  the  exten- 
sion of  their  business  relations  has  been  rapid  and  unex- 
ampled ?  There  is  no  end  to  their  reckless  and  insatiable 
pursuit  after  wealth  !  Combined  together,  they  exercise  a 
fearful  commercial  power.  It  is  these  merchant  princes 
in  combination  who  are  our  masters  on  the  battle-ground 
of  commerce.  They  are  the  men  who  control  the  markets, 
who  grind  down  the  faces  of  the  poor,  who  exact  at  will 
from  the  consumer !  How  beautifully  is  all  this  illustrated 
by  the  branches  of  a  tree  !  How  faithfully  are  the  laws  of 
society  there  represented  even  in  all  their  minutiae. 

But  this  is  not  all ;  for  there  is  a  social  policy  plainly 
suggested  by  the  leading  branches  of  the  tree,  and  the  con- 
dition of  its  branchlets  and  different  varieties  of  shoots, 
which  all  who  occupy  an  inferior  and  subordinate  position 
in  society  would  do  well  to  study.  There  is  clearly  compe- 
tition among  the  branches  of  a  tree  for  sap  and  sunlight, 
and  in  proportion  as  the  leading  branches  get  ahead,  in  the 
same  proportion  is  the  development  of  their  side-branches 


AND   SUBORDINATION.         &f  79 

retarded ;  whilst,  on  the  contrary,  a  considerable  growth  of 
their  side-branches  and  branchlets  is  a  check  on  these  lead- 
ing branches. 

These  facts  are  strikingly  seen  in  the  landscape  physiog- 
nomy of  certain  trees.  In  the  Lombardy  Poplar  (Populus 
dilatata\  the  main  stem  or  axis  takes  a  maximum  develop- 
ment, and  the  branches  are  consequently  reduced  to  a  mini- 
mum, so  that  the  whole  tree,  when  viewed  from  a  distance, 
resembles  a  vast  spindle.  In  other  trees,  however,  such  as 
the  Horse-Chestnut  ((Esculus  hippocastanum)  and  the  Lin- 
den (Tilia  Americana),  the  branches  make  an  equally  power- 
ful growth  with  the  primary  axis  or  stem,  and  this  prevents 
its  elongation.  Hence,  the  main  axis  or  stem  is  hardly  dis- 
tinguishable from  the  branches.  When  uninjured  by 
storms  or  artificial  pruning,  the  branches  of  these  trees 
usually  spread  out  equally  on  all  sides,  and  their  top  or 
head  is  dome-shaped  or  hemispherical.  For  this  reason 
these  trees  make  a  fine  appearance  on  a  lawn  or  park,  in 
addition  to  the  recommendation  of  perfect  shade  which 
they  afford. 

Now  this  competition  amongst  the  leading  branches  of 
a  tree  with  their  subordinate  branchlets  and  shoots,  for  sap 
and  sunlight,  is  a  truthful  illustration  of  that  struggle  for 
pre-eminence  and  for  the  good  things  of  this  life,  which  is 
perpetually  going  on  through  all  the  ramifications  of  so- 
ciety. In  this  respect,  rich  and  poor,  employer  and  em- 
ployed, meet  on  terms  of  equality.  Both  have  hard  times; 
for  there  is  as  much  competition  amongst  the  great  leading 
branches  or  master  minds  of  our  communities  as  between 
their  subordinates — the  branchlets  and  little  twigs;  and 
the  result  is  that  the  man  who  gives  employment  to  hun- 
dreds of  hands  and  counts  his  dollars  by  thousands,  is  not 
unfrequently  as  hard  pushed  to  meet  his  numerous  obliga- 
tions as  the  workman  whom  he  employs.  It  is  the  nature 
of  man  to  seek  for  power,  to  struggle  for  pre-eminence  in 
the  profession  or  branch  of  labor  to  which  he  devotes  him- 
self. This  produces  competition,  and  as,  from  the  very 
nature  of  things,  it  is  impossible  that  all  should  be  success- 
ful, each  physician  and  lawyer,  manufacturer,  merchant, 


80  THE   LAWS   OF   SOCIAL   INEQUALITY 

and  tradesman  sees,  in  all  those  who  are  engaged  in  the 
same  occupation,  competitors  who  are  dangerous  in  pro- 
portion to  the  amount  of  their  success.  A  social  organiza- 
tion in  which  there  shall  be  co-operation  without  compe- 
tition is  clearly  an  impossibility.  It  may  form  a  theme 
for  poets  and  a  dream  of  philanthropy,  but  as  human  na- 
ture is  at  present  constituted,  it  is  a  state  of  things  which 
can  never  be  realized.  A  state  of  warfare  appears  to  be 
the  natural  state  of  man.  This  may  be  an  unpalatable 
truth,  but  it  is  far  better  to  give  true  than  false  views  of 
life. 

It  would  not  be  difficult  to  prove  that  there  is  antago- 
nism amongst  all  the  inferior  forms  of  animal  life,  and 
thus  show  it  to  be  a  universal  law  of  Nature.  Even  the 
flowers  which  decorate  our  fields  and  forests,  are  mutually 
opposed  to  each  other.  Each  has  to  struggle  into  exist- 
ence against  a  host  of  competitors ;  for  Nature,  although 
she  has  been  prolific  of  the  seeds  of  life,  has  limited  the 
supply  of  room  and  food.  Shrubs  and  trees  prevent,  by 
the  extent  of  soil  which  they  occupy,  the  vegetation  of  spe- 
cies of  a  humbler  growth.  Millions  of  seeds  are  annually 
produced  which  never  germinate.  Borne  away  from  the 
plants  which  produced  them  by  the  winds  or  waves,  they 
fall  into  situations  unfavorable  to  their  growth,  or  upon  a 
soil  which  is  already  preoccupied  by  other  plants.  A  num- 
ber of  ferns  growing  on  a  hillside, will  successfully  maintain 
their  monopoly  of  the  ground  for  ages  against  all  other  in- 
truders, notwithstanding  the  facilities  afforded  to  the  sur- 
rounding plants  for  the  dispersion  of  their  seeds.  If,  for 
example,  a  seed  from  a  neighboring  thistle  or  dandelion 
should  fall  amongst  them,  it  cannot  germinate,  because 
they  have  possession  of  the  ground,  absorb  all  its  food  in 
the  struggle  amongst  themselves,  so  that  it  is  impossible 
that  any  should  be  afforded  for  the  stranger. 

To  man,  however,  the  "  Minister  and  Interpreter  of  Na- 
ture,"* reason  has  been  given  to  control  those  passions 

*  "  Homo  naturae  minister  et  interpres,  tantum  facit  et  intelligit,  quantum 
de  naturae  ordine  re  vel  mente  observaverit,  nee  amplius  scit  aut  potest." — 
Bacon's  Novum  Organum, 


AND   SUBORDINATION.  81 

and  appetites  which  he  has  in  common  with  the  inferior 
creatures.  Although  a  social  organization  cannot  exist 
without  competition,  yet  it  does  not  necessarily  follow 
that  we  are  to  oppose  each  other  with  the  ferocity  and 
cruelty  of  wild  beasts.  It  is  the  intention  of  Providence 
that  we  should  seek  to  ennoble  each  other  by  mutual  rivalry, 
that  the  struggle  should  improve  our  moral  and  intellec- 
tual nature.  As  society  advances,  for  the  world  moves  on- 
ward, those  will  be  most  successful  who  fight  the  inevitable 
battles  of  life  bravely  and  HONORABLY.  Even  now  the  ten- 
dency of  the  age  is  to  offer  increased  inducements  to  a 
meritorious  line  of  action.  What  is  a  mere  millionaire 
after  all?  Frail  and  perishable  mortal,  whom  men  so 
much  envy  and  admire,  you  shall  not  survive  the  grave ! 
To-day  your  name  is  in  everybody's  mouth ;  to-morrow 
you  will  be  forgotten  !  Money  never  rescued  any  man's 
name  from  oblivion,  unless  it  was  expended  so  as  to  bene- 
fit society.  Virtue  alone  is  enduring.  The  mind  is  the 
noblest  part  of  man.  What  of  the  mind  of  the  millionaire  ? 
Are  these  the  men  whose  spirits  converse  with  us  when  their 
bodies  have  been  mouldering  in  the  grave  for  ages  ?  Do  you 
rank  the  millionaire  with  such  men  as  Newton  and  Frank- 
lin, Clay  and  Webster,  and  the  venerable  Humboldt  ? 
These  men  are  not  dead ;  they  live,  and  they  will  continue 
to  live  for  ages  yet  to  come.  Who  remembers  the  mil- 
lionaire ?  Does  his  picture  adorn  the  poor  man's  home  ? 

That  which  is  the  most  remarkable  about  a  tree,  is  not 
only  the  variety,  the  perfect  harmony,  and  freedom  of  its 
individual  parts,  but  that  power  of  centralization  by  which 
all  these  parts  are  combined  together  into  one  harmonious 
whole.  That  is  only  a  harmonious  ordered  whole,  whose 
parts  are  free,  and  those  parts  are  only  free  which  unfold 
their  peculiarities  subordinate  to  a  common  law,  and  which 
in  their  independent  forms  equally  realize  the  idea  of  the 
whole.  In  the  tree,  then,  we  have  presented  for  contem- 
plation an  illustration,  clear  and  beautiful  as  the  unclouded 
sun,  of  a  perfectly  natural  and  equitable  social  system  of 
labor,  combining  the  highest  individual  freedom  with  sub- 
ordination. The  tree  shows  us  a  system  of  harmoniously 


82  THE    LAWS    OF    SOCIAL    INEQUALITY 

adjusted  labor,  where  not  only  the  branch  and  branehlet, 
but  even  the  little  twig,  leaf,  and  leaf-scale  are  all  fully 
employed  to  the  extent  of  their  capacity.  Where  the  in- 
dividual talent  of  a  community  is  thus  fully  and  univer- 
sally developed,  there  must  be  freedom. 

There  always  will  be  individuals  pre-eminently  gifted, 
but  where  talent  abounds,  there  is  less  danger  from  the 
inherent  selfishness  of  those  thus  liberally  endowed  by 
Nature.  Let  knowledge  be  diffused  on  the  most  enlarged 
and  liberal  scale,  and  the  sceptre  of  tyrants  is  broken,  the 
throne  of  delusion  crumbles,  and  individual  freedom  is 
fully  insured.  It  is  impossible  for  a  people,  thoroughly 
enlightened,  ever  to  be  enslaved  ?  Tyranny  can  never 
flourish  on  the  soil  of  this  country. 

In  nothing  is  the  supremacy  of  America  so  apparent, 
as  in  the  fact  that  when  men  of  talent,  accustomed  to 
sway  the  mind  of  the  ignorant  masses  in  Europe,  are 
exiled  to  these  shores,  they  have  to  settle  down  here  after 
awhile  as  ordinary  men.  America  extends  to  them  a  hos- 
pitable welcome,  but  because  they  have  come  to  a  "  free 
country,"  they  cannot  monopolize,  for  any  length  of  time, 
any  exorbitant  share  of  popular  attention  and  favor.  They 
may  be  eloquent  orators  and  journalists,  but  that  is  nothing 
in  a  country  where  such  gins  are  abundantly  developed. 
It  is  true  they  may  contrive  to  create  a  local  disturbance 
for  awhile,  but  then  it  is  soon  over ;  their  names  are  for- 
gotten, never  mentioned,  and  they  take  their  ranks  as  or- 
dinary mortals. 

The  truth  is,  that  society  in  America  resembles  a  wide- 
spread and  well-developed  tree,  where  a  great  many 
branches  make  an  equally  powerful  growth  on  all  sides, 
so  that  it  is  not  easy  to  distinguish  amongst  them  any 
particular  branch  which  takes  the  lead.  It  is  not  an  easy 
thing  for  any  man  to  render  himself  conspicuous  by  his 
abilities  in  a  country  where  there  is  so  much  individual 
talent  called  forth  by  education.  Now  this  is  all  right. 
It  is  good  policy  founded  on  Nature. 

Continue  to  educate  thy  children,  Columbia  !  Inspire 
them  with  an  inextinguishable  love  of  truth  and  freedom, 


AND   SUBORDINATION.  83 

and  thy  place  shall  be  foremost  among  the  nations  in 
wealth,  in  science,  and  in  empire !  Oh  !  tyranny,  leave 
these  shores  forever!  There  is  no  chance  for  thee  here  ! 
Away  with  thy  dungeons  and  thy  chains !  It  is  not  in 
America  that  enfranchised  humanity  can  ever  be  incarce- 
rated !  In  this  country,  men  are  not  disposed  to  cringe 
before  any  despotism,  however  ancient  and  colossal.  Here 
we  live  in  peace  and  charity  with  our  neighbor,  although 
we  differ  in  religious  opinions.  Is  this  a  condition  of 
things  to  be  lamented  ?  Have  you  the  effrontery  to  deny 
the  fact  that  men  live  together  more  happily,  now  that 
religious  and  political  freedom  is  enjoyed  by  all  ?  You 
would  have  the  people  to  give  up  this  "  infidel  freedom," 
(the  language  of  baffled  imposture  !)  those  precious  liber- 
ties claimed  for  them  by  their  greatest  statesmen,  and  pur- 
chased by  the  blood  of  heroes  !  You  would  revive  in  our 
midst  the  bloody  massacres,  barbarous  cruelties,  and  inve- 
terate religious  hatreds  of  former  ages !  Is  it  possible  that 
you  expect  a  people,  now  happy,  enlightened,  and  free, 
making  daily  advances  in  science  and  in  all  the  arts  that 
humanize  mankind,  to  succumb  to  your  wretched,  dark- 
ening, and  enslaving  policy  ?  Yet  you  are  moving  for- 
ward in  the  dark  with  slow  and  stealthy  step ;  but  the 
friends  of  freedom  are  on  the  watch,  and  the  moment  you 
boldly  reveal  in  the  broad  glare  of  day  the  tyranny  of 
your  purpose,  Columbia  will  prove,  as  ever,  the  bravest 
defender  of  the  religious  and  political  liberties  of  man- 
kind. Nothing  but  benevolence  and  good-will  to  the 
human  race  is  written  on  her  youthful,  noble,  starry  brow. 
This  then  is  the  true  social  policy  which  is  plainly  indi- 
cated by  the  tree.  We  see  that  the  sap  has  a  natural  ten- 
dency to  pass  to  the  leading  branches  from  the  branchlets 
'and  smaller  twigs ;  so  power  passes  away  naturally  from 
the  hands  of  the  many,  who  are,  comparatively  speaking, 
without  energy,  to  those  of  the  few  who  possess  it  in  a 
pre-eminent  degree.  But  power,  accumulated  in  the 
hands  of  any  one  man  or  body  of  men,  is  ever  dangerous 
to  liberty.  Human  nature  is  not  to  be  trusted  with  irre- 
sponsible power,  no  matter  what  the  plea.  The  encroach- 


84  THE   LAWS   OF   SOCIAL   INEQUALITY 

ments  of  monopoly,  whether  political,  religious,  or  com- 
mercial, must  therefore  be  withstood.  The  tree  must  be 
made  to  spread  out  on  all  sides.  In  a  world  like  this  it  is 
necessary  for  people  to  look  out;  for  the  individual  liberty 
of  those  who  occupy  a  subordinate  and  inferior  position 
u  can  only  be  maintained  at  the  price  of  eternal  vigilance." 

We  have  shown  that  the  tree  is  a  compound  plant,  built 
up  by  the  labors  of  individual  phytons  or  plants,  called 
leaves.  One  generation  of  these  phytons  perishes  every 
year,  but  not  before  each  individual  of  the  generation  has 
formed  a  bud,  which  remains  when  the  leaf  falls,  through 
the  winter  months ;  the  embryo,  leaves  and  stem  which  it 
contains,  developing  on  the  return  of  the  next  vegetative 
season.  If,  therefore,  the  leaves  are  regarded  as  phytons 
or  individual  plants,  the  series  of  buds  which  they  produce 
and  from  which  comes  forth,  when  circumstances  are  favor- 
able, new  families  of  leaves,  may  be  correctly  regarded  as 
a  new  generation ;  and  if  we  consider  the  first  set  of  leaves 
as  the  parent,  or  the  entire  shoot,  built  up  by  them,  as  the 
mother-shoot,  the  first  set  of  buds  produced  by  them  which 
unfold  to  shoots  and  leaves,  may  be  called  the  daughter- 
shoots  or  the  first  generation,  and  the  second  set  of  buds 
generated  by  the  leaves  of  the  daughter-shoots,  the  second 
generation,  &c. 

Now  if  all  leaves  produced  buds  the  first  year,  and  if  all 
buds,  thus  produced,  unfolded  to  shoots  and  leaves  the 
second  year,  then  the  number  of  generations  of  shoots 
would  exactly  correspond  with  the  number  of  years  during 
which  the  tree  had  lived,  and  we  should  have  an  easy  but 
simple  method  of  determining  its  age.  But  in  reality  it  is 
not  so,  because  in  the  development  of  the  main  axis  of  a 
branch,  often  single  or  numerous  seasons  occur,  during 
which  the  growth  is  greatly  retarded,  and  only  such  leaves 
are  produced  whose  axilla  remain  unfruitful,  whilst  the 
growth  of  the  side-shoots  is  still  more  retarded,  and  they, 
for  the  same  reason,  consequently  remain  unbranched. 
Hence,  the  greatest  difference  predominates  between  the 
number  of  generations  of  shoots  on  a  branch  and  its  age. 
Compare  in  this  respect  the  growth  of  the  first  side-shoot 


AND   SUBORDINATION.  85 

in  Fig.  1,  page  31,  with  that  of  the  whole  branch,  esti- 
mating, in  both  instances,  from  the  bud-traces  marked 
53.  The  age  of  both  shoot  and  branch  is  the  same,  five 
years ;  yet  how  great  the  difference  in  the  extent  to  which 
development  has  been  carried.  In  five  years,  there  has 
been  no  side  production  from  the  shoot,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  single  bud,  and  its  entire  length  is  only  four 
inches  and  six  lines,  whilst  in  the  same  time  the  primary 
axis  has  grown  twenty-three  inches  and  three  lines,  and 
put  forth  two  generations  of  shoots,  one  of  which  is  fifteen 
inches  in  length. 

It  may  be  stated  as  a  general  rule,  that,  in  very  favorable 
conditions,  very  powerfully  growing  branches  will  put  forth 
as  many  as  four  or  five  generations  of  side-shoots,  but 
the  vegetative  power  here  expires,  and  the  last  generation 
of  shoots  are  entirely  rudimentary,  appearing  as  mere 
rosettes  or  clusters  of  leaves,  no  intervals  of  stem  what- 
ever being  formed  between  them. 

Hence,  the  power  of  a  branch  to  give  forth  branchlets 
is  not  indefinite,  but  diminishes  with  each  succeeding  gene- 
ration, until  the  vegetative  power  ultimately  arrives  at  a 
minimum.  A  single  glance  at  the  branches  of  a  tree  is 
all  that  is  necessary  to  satisfy  the  reader  that  there  is  a 
retarded  growth  in  length  and  thickness  of  each  succes- 
sive generation  of  shoots  or  branchlets.  And  this  remis- 
sion of  growth  is  not  founded  on  a  difference  of  age 
between  the  branch  and  branchlet,  nor  on  a  cessation  of 
growth  at  a  certain  stage  of  the  same,  for  all  axes,  so  long 
as  they  continue  to  live,  grow  forth  indefinitely  ;  but  this 
circumspection  of  growth  is  rather  founded  on  a  difference 
in  the  intensity  of  growth  from  the  commencement,  on  a 
positive  loss  of  vegetative  energy. 

When,  therefore,  the  growth  of  the  axis  becomes  com- 
pound, other  considerations  must  enter  into  our  calcula- 
tions with  reference  to  the  development  of  any  individual 
axis,  such  as  its  relative  position  on  the  primary  axis,  or 
in  regard  to  the  number  of  successive  generations.  If  it 
occupies  an  inferior  and  subordinate  position  on  the  pri- 
mary axis,  or  in  the  chain  of  successive  generations,  its 
growth  will  be  necessarily  very  limited. 


86  THE   LAWS   OF   SOCIAL  INEQUALITY 

The  reader  is  again  referred  to  the  branch  on  page  31y 
which  we  must  remind  him  was  copied  from  Nature.  The 
maximum  of  ramifying  power  on  the  main  axis  of  this 
branch  appears  to  be  about  the  middle,  and  is  seen  in  the 
first  branch  immediately  below  the  bud-traces,  marked  '54, 
or  the  fourth  branch  from  the  bottom.  This  branch  is  fif- 
teen inches  in  length.  The  tenth  branch,  just  under  the 
bud-trace  marked  1857y  exhibits  the  minimum  of  ramify- 
ing power,  or  a  growth  of  only  eight  lines.  It  will  be  seen 
that  the  difference  of  growth  amongst  the  other  branches 
in  like  mariner  bears  a  determinate  relative  connection 
with  their  several  positions  on  the  main  axis  of  the  branch. 

It  is  very  seldom,  therefore,  that  all  the  axillary  buds  of 
an  axis  are  developed.  Most  frequently  the  majority  of 
them  are  suppressed,  and  this,  too,  according  to  a  fixed 
and  regular  law.  In  most  cases,  neither  in  the  axilla  of 
the  covering  leaves,  nor  in  that  of  the  under  leaves,  vitally 
active  buds  are  produced,  but  only  in  the  leaf-angles  of  the 
upper  and  more  powerfully  developed  part  of  the  year's 
shoot.  Yet  this  rule  is  not  without  exceptions.  In  the 
Judas  tree  (Cercis  Canadensis\  the  maximum  of  productive 
power  is  certainly  in  the  under  part  of  the  shoot ;  the  leaf- 
axilla  have  duplicate  buds  in  the  lower  part  of  the  shoot, 
whilst  toward  its  top  the  axilla  of  the  leaves  are  sterile. 

Sometimes  the  buds  which  have  thus  been  rendered  ru- 
dimentary, retain  a  sufficient  amount  of  vital  activity  to 
carry  them  forward  through  the  annually  deposited  layers 
of  wood  and  bark,  so  that  they  continue  to  maintain  their 
position,  year  after  year,  on  the  outside  of  the  bark,  where 
they  remain  ready  for  action,  in  case  the  growth  of  the 
other  buds  is  checked  by  untimely  frosts  or  other  causes. 
The  disintegration  of  the  bark,  which  is  perpetually  going 
on  in  old  stems,  undoubtedly  helps  to  keep  them  on  the 
surface.  But  in  the  majority  of  instances,  the  bud  either 
dies,  and  is  detached  from  the  shoot  the  first  year,  or  it  re- 
tains its  life,  but  continues  totally  inactive.  In  the  latter 
case,  it  necessarily  sinks  below  the  surface  of  the  stem,  and 
becomes  buried  beneath  the  succeeding  annual  deposits  of 
bark  and  wood.  Here  it  may  remain  for  years,  in  a  state 


AND   SUBORDINATION.  87 

of  passive  vitality,  entombed  in  the  stem  of  the  tree,  like 
a  seed  which  is  buried  in  the  ground.  The  trunks  and 
branches  of  trees  always  contain  an  immense  number  of 
these  buried  buds.  The  Beech  branch  figured  on  page  31 
of  this  work,  may  be  again  referred  to  ;  for  it  furnishes  an 
excellent  illustration  of  this  truth.  "We  have  proved  it  to 
have  been  constructed  by  the  labors  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty-five  leaves,  each  of  which  formed,  more  or  less  per- 
fectly, a  bud  in  its  axilla,  before  it  fell  from  the  stem ;  yet 
only  twenty-seven  of  these  leaves  developed  vitally  active 
buds — therefore,  the  total  number  of  abortive  or  rudimen- 
tary buds  in  the  branch  must  be  155 — 27=128. 

The  reader  will  remember  that  this  branch  is  only  six 
years  old,  and  is  a  mere  twig,  comparatively  speaking.  The 
length  of  the  primary  axis  is  but  twenty-seven  inches  and 
three  lines,  and  of  its  greatest  secondary  axis  fifteen  inches. 
How  countless,  therefore,  must  be  the  number  of  rudimen- 
tary buds  in  powerful  branches,  which  have  been  growing 
for  centuries!  Each  generation  of  leaves,  whose  labors 
brought  those  branches  to  their  present  strength  and  size, 
doubtless  left  behind  them  buds  which  now  lie  concealed 
in  them.  The  vitality  of  those  buds  is  not  destroyed.  Their 
parent  leaves,  it  may  be,  have  died,  and  dropped  from  the 
tree  many  years  ago  ;  but  they  still  retain,  unimpaired,  the 
life  which  they  then  received.  It  is  only  necessary  for 
them  to  be  placed  in  circumstances  favorable  to  their 
growth,  to  commence  the  most  energetic  life-movements. 
Let  some  of  the  leading  branches  be  broken  off  by  the 
high  winds  of  Winter,  and  when  Spring  comes,  they  will 
attract  the  sap  which  went  to  those  branches  to  themselves. 
This  will  arouse  their  dormant  energies ;  and  so  powerful 
will  be  the  impulse  received,  that  they  will  force  their  way 
through  the  wood  and  bark  to  the  surface,  and  break  forth  in- 
to branches,  although  that  wood  and  bark  may  be  the  growth 
of  years.  All  must  be  familiar  with  the  sight  of  willows  and 
other  trees,  whose  main  branches  have  been  thus  broken  off, 
and  whose  trunks  are  nevertheless  covered  with  young  bran- 
ches and  shoots,  the  growth  of  buds  whichhave  been  buried 
in  their  wood,  and  for  years  dormant  beneath  their  surface. 


88  THE   LAWS    OF   SOCIAL   INEQUALITY 

It  is  necessary,  however,  here  to  make  some  qualifying 
observations.  Every  plant  possesses  a  power  of  forming 
buds  out  of  any  of  its  cells,  when  these  cells  are  placed  in 
suitable  conditions.  E~ow,  although  the  normal  position 
of  a  bud  is  either  at  the  summit  of  a  shoot,  or  in  the  axilla 
of  a  leaf,  yet  buds  are  frequently  found  also  developing 
from  other  parts,  such  as  the  leaves  and  roots;  and  not  un- 
frequently  in  the  case  of  trees,  where  the  branches  have 
been  pollarded,  or  cut  away,  from  the  cells  of  the  cambium 
region.  It  is  a  fact  well  known  to  gardeners,  that  under 
the  influence  of  heat  and  moisture,  the  leaves  of  Bryo- 
pliyllum  calycinum,  Grloxinia,  G-esneria,  &c.,  may  be  made 
to  produce  buds;  and  the  production  of  buds  on  true  roots 
has  been  frequently  observed  in  Pyrus  Japonica,  Madura 
aurantiaca,  and  Paulonia  imperialis.  Portions  of  the  roots 
of  these  plants,  in  a  healthy  condition,  may  be  made  to 
produce  new  plants.  Hence,  in  the  case  of  willows  and 
other  trees,  whose  tops  have  been  removed,  "  it  is  not  al- 
ways easy  to  decide,  without  dissection,  whether  the  buds 
are  really  adventitious,  or  merely  latent  axillary  buds  sti- 
mulated into  development."* 

Buds  are  always  formed  from  the  cellular  portion  of  the 
stem,  and  in  normal  cases  they  may  be  distinctly  traced  on 
young  branches  to  the  pith  or  medullary  rays.  This  fact 
is  illustrated  by  the  dark  lines  drawn  through  the  centre  of 
the  conical  ramifications  of  the  diagram  on  page  59,  which 
represents  the  pith  in  the  centre  of  the  branch  and  its 
branchlets,  and  shows  its  connection  with  their  buds  or 
developing  points.  In  those  cases  where  a  bud  has  been 
formed  by  a  leaf  which  has  died  years  ago,  and  has  main- 
tained its  position  on  the  exterior  bark  in  a  latent  condition, 
if  a  section  be  made  at  the  point  of  the  stem  where  it  is 
seen  to  protrude,  the  vegetative  course  of  the  bud  will  be 
marked  by  a  line  of  pith  called  the  wake  of  the  bud,  which 
traverses  the  several  layers  from  the  centre  out  ward,  f  It 
follows  from  this,  that  branches  of  the  same  age  may  have 

*  An  Elementary  Course  of  Botany,  Structural,  Physiological,  and  Sys- 
tematic, by  ARTHUR,  HENFEY,  page  69. 

f  See  article  "Botany,"  in  Larduer's  Cabinet  Cyclopaedia. 


AND   SUBORDINATION.  89 

originated  from  buds  which  have  been  formed  at  different 
periods  of  the  life  of  the  tree.  Hence,  as  growth  progresses, 
and  the  successive  conical  layers  accumulate  year  after  year 
around  the  stem  and  its  branches,  the  original  points  of 
development  from  whence  the  first  vitally  active  buds  pro- 
ceeded, become  deeply  seated  in  the  interior  of  the  stem ; 
for  the  wood  of  the  principal  branches  of  the  tree  which 
usually  developes  from  the  earliest  vitally  active  buds,  can 
be  traced  through  the  successive  annual  layers  down  to 
these  original  points.  This  is  the  cause  of  those  knots 
which  we  find  in  firs  and  other  wood.  They  are  in  fact 
sections  across  a  portion  of  the  branches,  which  proceed 
from  the  interior  of  the  stem,  laterally  and  outwardly. 
The  diagram  on  page  59,  if  carefully  studied  awhile,  will 
also  make  this  fact  plain. 

But  the  abundant  supply  of  food  existing  in  the  cells  of 
the  cambium  region  of  the  healthy  trunks  of  trees  which 
have  been  pollarded,  will  also  stimulate  to  "  unusual 
activity  the  cambium  cells ;"  and  if  there  is  no  wake  visible 
on  dissection,  it  may  be  decided  that  the  branches  have 
been  developed  from  cells  which  have  originated  there,  as 
"vents  for  the  extraordinary  vital  energy  of  the  plant."* 

In  society,  as  in  a  tree,  there  is  a  vast  amount  of  dormant 
ability,  which  would  manifest  itself  if  circumstances  were 
favorable.  So,  when  a  nation  is  decimated  by  disease,  or 
depopulated  by  war,  its  arts  and  sciences  revive,  its  poets 
and  philosophers,  its  statesmen  and  heroes,  are  all  repro- 
duced. Dormant  talent  is  developed  to  replace  that  which 
has  been  removed.  Men  who  would  have  passed  through 
life  without  notice,  fulfilling  its  ordinary  routine  of  duties 
in  their  several  callings  and  professions,  become  suddenly 
stimulated  to  exert  themselves.  The  conditions  have  be- 
come more  favorable  for  their  development ;  their  intel- 
lectual and  moral  energies  are  called  forth  by  the  new 
circumstances  in  which  they  find  themselves  placed,  and 
they  prove  themselves  equal  to  the  performance  of  the 
several  tasks  which  have  been  allotted  to  them.  Their 
talents  are  as  conspicuous  and  as  highly  honored  by  the 

*  Henfey's  Elementary  Course  of  Botany,  page  578. 


90  THE   LAWS   OF   SOCIAL  INEQUALITY 

community,  as  those  of  their  predecessors,  by  the  remem- 
brance of  whose  deeds  they  are  stimulated.  Thus  death 
becomes  the  source  of  life — nations  revive  again. 

Owing  to  the  imperfect  state  of  our  present  civilization, 
the  intellectual  and  moral  powers  of  our  nature  are  un- 
folded only  in  a  few  of  our  fellow-men,  and  these  few,  pre- 
eminent for  high  station  and  brilliant  attainments,  are 
being  all  the  time  brought  before  our  notice.  These 
privileged  and  favored  individuals  attract  universal  atten- 
tion, and  in  the  excess  of  our  admiration  we  are  apt  to 
imagine  a  great  gulf  fixed  between  them  and  the  rest  of 
their  race.  But  it  not  unfrequently  happens  that  these 
great  men,  so  conspicuous  and  illustrious,  have  had,  from 
the  very  first  start  in  life,  every  advantage  of  education 
and  elevated  social  position.  If  so,  properly  regarded, 
they  should  unite  us  more  closely  to  the  multitude  of  men ; 
for  the  light  which  shines  in  them,  shows  clearly  powers 
and  capabilities  now  slumbering  in  thousands  around  us, 
awaiting  but  the  influence  of  favoring  circumstances  to 
become  manifest. 

The  starveling  shoot  only  requires  sunshine  and  sap  to 
become  a  powerful  branch  ;  and  every  poor  merchant  and 
tradesman  feels  his  want  of  capital,  and  how  he  could  push 
and  extend  his  business,  if  he  only  had  the  means  to  do  so. 
How  frequently  amongst  the  trees  of  a  forest,  does  it  hap- 
pen that  a  powerful  branch,  rich  in  sap  and  sunlight,  with 
its  numberless  branchlets  and  leaves  all  at  work  in  the  air, 
is  swept  away  by  a  storm,  and  then  the  current  of  sap  which 
it  monopolized  goes  to  the  starveling  shoots ;  some  of  them, 
under  its  influence,  become  branches  as  powerful  and  luxu- 
riant as  that  which  was  removed,  and  the  injury  done  the 
tree  is  thus  completely  effaced. 

It  is  precisely  the  same  in  the  social  world.  Persons 
now  in  easy  circumstances,  well  remember  the  time  when 
they  were  starveling  shoots.  Did  you  not  for  years  bravely 
battle  with  the  world  under  every  possible  disadvantage  ? 
You  gathered  energy  and  nerve  from  repeated  conflicts, 
and  at  last  a  chance  presented  itself;  and  then,  in  the 
popular  but  expressive  language  of  the  day,  you  went 


AND   SUBORDINATION.  91 

ahead,  and  putting  forth  on  all  sides,  you  did  an  immense 
business,  giving  employment  to  hundreds  of  hands.  And 
now,  having  acquired  both  property  and  influence  in  the 
community,  you  calmly  contemplate  the  struggles  of  others 
now  situated  as  you  were  years  ago.  Good  deeds  done 
under  such  circumstances  will  be  to  those  whom  you  be- 
friend, like  the  morning  star  to  the  storm-tossed  mariner, 
inexpressibly  beautiful  and  cheering;  for  they  will  en- 
courage in  them  the  hope  of  approaching  day,  and  they 
will  assuredly  shine  down  on  you  cheerily  and  brightly  as 
the  evening  star  at  the  sunset  of  your  life. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

THE  RHYTHMS  OR  OSCILLATIONS  OF  GROWTH  IN  THE  DEVELOP- 
MENT OF  TREES  ARE  DURABLY  IMPRESSED  ON  THEIR  ORGANISM, 
AND  THE  ORGANIZATION  OF  MAN  IS  EQUALLY  AS  SUSCEPTIBLE 

OF  RECEIVING  AND  RETAINING  IMPRESSIONS  FROM  WITHOUT. 

* 

IN  the  consideration  of  a  tree,  we  have  to  deal,  not  with 
a  product  of  crystallization,  such  as  the  lead  tree,  or  the 
dendritic  formations  on  a  frozen  window,  but  with  matter 
living  and  organized.  Now,  although  it  may  be  difficult 
to  point  out  the  bounding  line  between  the  animal  and 
vegetable  kingdom,  because  a  decided  characteristic  dis- 
tinction between  the  animal  and  vegetable  cell  is  wanted, 
yet  the  limit  between  living  and  lifeless  Nature  is  easily 
defined.  In  living  Nature,  THE  CELL  predominates  as  the 
fundamental  organ ;  its  absence  characterizes  the  lifeless 
creation,  whose  fundamental  form  is  THE  CRYSTAL. 

The  crystal  grows  by  additions  of  matter  to  its  surface  ; 
the  cells  grows  from  within,  and  not  from  without.  The 
crystal,  throughout  its  entire  mass,  consists  of  the  same 
chemical  principles,  arranged  in  the  same  manner,  and  in 
the  same  proportions ;  but  the  walls  of  the  cell  and  its 
fluid  contents  are  chemically  different  from  each  other. 
The  parts  of  the  crystal,  held  together  by  the  power  of 
mutual  attraction,  remain  at  rest,  side  by  side,  without 


92  OSCILLATIONS   OR   VIBRATIONS 

exercising  any  reciprocal  influence  on  each  other ;  but  the 
cells  of  plants,  which  united  together  form  their  tissues, 
or  the  solid  substance  of  their  organs,  act  and  react  upon 
each  other  and  upon  the  sap  as  it  passes  through  them. 
Cell  and  crystal  cannot  therefore  be  compared  with  one 
another ;  for  the  cell  lives,  but  the  crystal  is  dead.  The 
celebrated  Naturalist,  Linnaeus,  thus  expresses  himself  in 
his  Philosophical  Botany :  u  Stones  grow.  Vegetables 
grow  and  live.  Animals  grow,  live,  and  feel."*  These 
definitions,  remarkable  for  their  brevity  and  clearness, 
have  never  yet  been  surpassed.  They  imply  a  profound 
knowledge  of  Nature,  and  are  worthy  the  revered  memory 
of  a  man  to  whom  the  world  must  ever  be  indebted. 

But  we  have  shown  THE  CELL  to  be  the  "  lowest  and 
simplest  individual  elementary  organ"  employed  by  Na- 
ture in  the  construction  of  the  tree.  Out  of  the  cell  springs 
forth  organic  life.  Each  animal  and  plant  begins  with  a 
cell,  and  all  the  organs  of  the  same  are  formed  out  of  cells. 
Therefore,  the  increase  in  number  of  its  cells,  their  indi- 
vidualization  and  association  into  tissues,  constitute  the 
living  building  material  out  of  which  the  entire  fabric  of 
the  tree  is  constructed  ;  and  the  tree  is  therefore  no  stiff, 
unyielding  form,  but  a  living,  elastic,  and  easily  impres- 
sible body,  whose  movements  are,  in  fact,  as  fluctuating  as 
those  of  the  mercurial  column  in  the  tube  of  a  barometer. 

And,  first  of  all,  let  us  contemplate  vegetative  Nature  in 
her  simpler  forms.  Let  us  study  the  life-history  of  one  of 
those  lowly  native  annuals,  besprinkled,  as  it  were,  in 
kindness,  in  the  Spring  of  the  year,  over  the  landscape, 
by  that  sublime  PROVIDENCE  WHO  GUIDES  ALL  NATURE, 
ruling  alike  the  movements  of  atoms  and  the  roll  of 
worlds.  From  the  first  breaking  forth  of  life  in  the  seed, 
there  is  continual  motion  and  activity, — a  regular  cycle 
of  leaves  until  growth  culminates  ;  the  plant  then  flowers, 
arrives  at  the  condition  of  a  seed,  and  enters  on  the  stage 
of  rest.  The  entire  axis,  and  all  its  appendages, — its  roots, 
leaves,  and  flowers — have  perished  ;  for  into  the  seed  the 

*  Lapides  crescunt.  Vegetabilia  crescunt  et  vivunt.  Animalia  cres- 
cunt,  vivunt,  et  sentiunt. — PHILOSOPHIA  BOTANICA,  a  Carlos  Linnccus. 


OF    GROWTH   IN   TREES.  93 

exhausted  vitality  of  the  plant  has  retired.  Then  comes 
the  sleep  of  Winter,  when  forest  tree  and  lowly  flower  alike 
repose,  till  the  onward  march  of  Nature  brings  back  to 
earth  the  heat  and  light  of  Spring,  re-awakens  the  dormant 
life-energies  in  the  seed,  which  slowly  commences  the 
same  instructive  and  ever  deeply-interestyig  life  move- 
ments. 

In  forest  trees,  or  woody  perennials,  there  is  the  same 
continual  change  from  a  state  of  rest  to  that  of  motion. 
As  the  tree  grows,  the  life-movements  forward  are  accele- 
rated and  then  retarded,  year  after  year.  These  fluctua- 
tions of  growth  in  trees  may  be  compared  to  the  rising 
and  the  falling  of  a  wave,  which  attains  a  certain  eleva- 
tion over  the  ocean's  surface,  and  then  sinks  into  its  depths 
and  disappears. 

Now,  the  trunk  of  a  tree  rises  at  first  from  the  seed  as 
an  herbaceous  stem ;  but,  as  it  usually  becomes  more  or 
less  woody  before  the  close  of  the  vegetative  season,  when 
it  enters  on  the  stage  of  rest  in  Winter,  it  is  not  destroyed 
by  the  severity  of  the  season.  Only  its  foliage  perishes. 
We  have  seen  how  the  foliage  is  renewed  upon  fresh  shoots 
from  the  terminal  and  lateral  buds  of  the  young  stem  every 
.season  ;  in  fact,  the  axis  with  its  branches  is  the  only  per- 
manently enduring  part  of  the  tree. 

In  some  trees  these  fluctuations  of  growth,  or  vibratory, 
movements  between  a  state  of  rest  and  that  of  motion,  last 
for  hundreds  and  even  thousands  of  years  ;  but  the  tree, 
like  every  other  living  organized  form,  is  compelled  at 
last  to  pay  back  the  debt  due  to  Nature,  and  yields  to  the 
earth  and  air  those  borrowed  elements  out  of  which  it  ori- 
ginated. 

In  order  that  the  reader  may  form  a  more  definite  idea 
of  the  nature  of  these  waves  of  growth,  we  have  ventured 
to  classify  them  as  follows.  In  the  life  of  a  tree,  we  may 
distinguish  three  principal  waves  of  growth,  or  accelerated 
and  retarded  vital  movements. 

The  Annual  Wave. — During  winter,  the  trees  of  tempe- 
rate climates,  like  the  seeds  in  the  ground,  are  in  a  state 
of  passive  vitality.  Life  exists  in  both,  although  there  is 


94  OSCILLATIONS   OR  VIBRATIONS 

no  perceptible  vital  movement ;  for  there  is  no  chemical 
decomposition  or  separation  of  their  parts.  Alexander 
von  Humboldt  defines  the  power  of  life  as  that  inward 
force  which  dissolves  the  fetters  of  the  chemical  affinities, 
and  prevents  the  union  of  the  elements  or  original  com- 
ponents of  organized  bodies.  Therefore,  there  cannot  be 
a  more  infallible  mark  of  death  than  corruption.  It  indi- 
cates that  the  elementary  principles  or  raw  material  of 
what  was  once  a  plant  or  an  animal,  are  beginning  to  obey 
their  pristine  laws,  and  to  arrange  themselves  in  accord- 
ance with  their  chemical  relations  to  each  other.  There- 
fore, so  long  as  the  parts  of  the  organism  hold  together, 

"  Before  decay's  effacing  fingers 
Have  swept  the  lines  where  beauty  lingers," 

the  functions  of  life,  like  those  of  the  seed  or  the  tree,  may 
be  only  suspended  for  a  season,  notwithstanding  the  pre- 
sence of  all  the  other  distressing  indications  of  disease. 

Reader,  blame  me  not  for  this  apparent  digression.  My 
object  in  this  book  is  to  show  "  What  may  be  learned  from 
a  tree."  The  above  lesson  is  an  important  one,  and  may 
perhaps  be  of  service  some  day  ;  for  it  is  a  sad  truth,  that 
inevitable  separations  await  us  all,  and  "  hours  of  desola- 
tion are  on  the  wing,  coming  swiftly  and  straight  toward 
us,  soon  to  overshadow  us,  and  hide  us  from  the  light  of 
the  sun."* 

But  Winter  has  gone  with  its  cold,  darkness,  and  storms, 
and  Spring  has  come  with  its  w^arm,  bright  sun  and  gentle 
breezes.  The  stage  of  rest  is  passed.  Reinvigorated  Na- 
ture awakens  from  repose.  Slowly  emerges  the  plant  out 
of  the  seed,  and  the  tree  begins  to  grow.  There  is  again 
continual  motion  and  activity  amongst  all  the  parts  of  the 
growing  organs,  the  same  cycle  of  appendages, — of  leaves, 
flowers,  and  fruits, — until  both  arrive  again,  in  the  fall,  at 
the  stage  of  rest.  The  tree  is  deprived  of  the  leaves  and 
flowers  of  Spring,  and  of  the  fruits  of  Autumn.  Another 
ring  of  wood  and  bark  has  been  formed,  and  additions 

*  Discourses  by  W.  H.  FURNESS,  Pastor  of  the  First  Congregational  Unita- 
rian Church,  Philadelphia. 


OF    GROWTH   IN   TREES.  95 

have  been  made  of  new  growths  to  the  extremities  of  its 
branches.  These  yearly  vibrations  of  growth  correspond 
with  the  oscillations  of  the  great  pendulum  of  the  universe, 
and  are  faithfully  recorded  in  the  annual  wood-rings  visi- 
ble on  the  cross-section,  and  in  the  bud-traces  left  on  the 
exterior  bark  of  the  young  shoots  and  .branches. 

This  however  is  not  all ;  for  when  we  come  to  examine 
carefully  the  different  parts  of  the  tree,  when  it  is  denuded 
of  its  foliage,  we  find  that  each  branch,  and  branchlet,  and 
shoot  is  characterized  by  its  own  peculiar  fluctuation.  In 
the  annual  wave  of  growth  which  pervades  each  shoot, 
there  are  three  distinct  stages  which  offer  themselves  for 
consideration.  Toward  the  bottom  of  each  shoot,  we  have 
formed  a  series  of  perfectly  undeveloped  internodes,  which 
support  the  covering-leaves,  and  which  are  visible  after 
their  fall  in  a  series  of  closely  approximated  annual  scars, 
called,  in  this  work,  bud-traces  (gemma  vestigia).  Then 
follow  the  partially  developed  internodes  of  the  lower 
leaves  of  the  shoot,  and  then  the  principal  internodes 
which,  through  their  expansion,  form  the  shoot.  But  the 
vitality  of  the  leaves  above  the  centre  of  the  shoot  becomes 
more  and  more  enfeebled,  because  they  come  to  their  per- 
fection later  in  the  season,  when  the  heat  and  light  of  the 
sun — those  stimulants  of  vegetable  vitality  —  decrease. 
The  internodes  between  the  leaves  consequently  approach 
each  other,  until  finally  we  arrive  at  the  terminal  bud, 
where  the  shoot  again  enters  on  the  stage  of  rest. 

Now,  as  the  cycle  of  accelerated  and  retarded  growth 
is  repeated  each  season,  and  since  there  is  always  as 
marked  a  contrast  among  the  shoots  as  between  the  inter- 
nodial  developments  of  the  commencing  parts  and  those 
that  follow,  the  same  wave  of  growth  is  perceptible  amongst 
the  shoots ;  and  therefore  we  have  marked  out  by  Nature, 
in  a  manner  not  less  sure,  the  growth  of  the  year,  in  cases 
where  the  bud-traces  are  indistinct  or  wholly  absent  from 
the  axis  of  growth,  as  in  the  Buckthorn  (Rhamnusfrangula). 
In  the  Beech  branch,  represented  on  page  31,  the  wave  of 
growth  appears  to  culminate  about  the  centre  of  each 


96  OSCILLATIONS   OR   VIBRATIONS 

year's  shoot.  The  reader  will  be  satisfied  of  this  fact  by 
examining  the  drawing. 

The  Daily  Wave. — According  to  Treviranus,  the  growth 
of  trees  is  accelerated  during  the  day  and  retarded'  in  the 
evening.  The  principal  German  physiologists  appear  to 
agree  as  to  the  fact  that  there  is  such  a  daily  acceleration 
and  retardation  of  growth,  though  they  differ  a  little  as  to 
the  precise  time  of  its  occurrence.  This  daily  fluctuation 
is  by  no  means  unreasonable ;  for  growth  can  only  take 
place  through  the  assimilation  of  formative  material,  and 
this  mainly  depends  on  the  sun's  influence.  The  vital 
energies  of  plants  may  possibly  vary  with  the  degree  of 
the  sun's  elevation  above  the  horizon,  and  plants  may  re- 
cuperate to  some  extent  during  the  night,  like  the  animal 
creation.  For  the  same  reason  growth  will  be  more  rapid 
when  the  sun  shines,  especially  after- rain,  than  when  the 
sky  is  clouded. 

Some  of  the  distinguished  microscopists  and  physio- 
logists of  Germany  think  that  these  daily  pulsations  of 
growth  have  also  left  their  mark  in  the  interior  of  the  tree, 
and  that  the  fine  layers  in  the  thick  walls  of  the  wood  and 
bast  tissues,  and  of  the  starch  granules,  are  connected 
with  these  daily  fluctuations  in  the  growth  of  plants. 
"  Starch  granules  are  the  most  easily  observed  in  the  cells 
of  the  potato,  where  they  are  very  large.  The  mode  of 
their  formation  is  indicated  by  the  peculiar  markings  on 
their  outer  surface,  each  grain  having  a  spot  at  one  end 


Grains  of  starch  from  the  potato. 

which  is  called  the  hilum,  or  ostiole,  with  fine  concentric 
lines  drawn  around  it."* 

The  Life  Wave. — This  is  that  grand  vibration  of  growth 

*  See  the  author's  work  entitled  "  The  Plant :  an  Illustration  of  the 
Organic  Life  of  the  Animal." 


OF   GROWTH    IN   TREES.  97 

which  extends  through  the  whole  period  of  the  life  of  the 
tree,  and  which  carries  along  with  it  all  the  smaller  fluctu- 
ations of  each  clay  and  each  year.  We  have  shown  that  the 
growth  of  the  different  parts  of  a  tree  depends  on  the 
amount  of  leaf-surface  put  forth  hy  each  part  into  the 
atmosphere.  But  there  is  a  continually  increasing  numher 
of  leaves  developed  during  the  first  period  of  the  life  of  a 
tree,  and  consequently  an  acceleration, of  growth,  not  only 
of  each  individual  part,  but  of  the  entire  tree  itself  in  the 
same  ratio,  until  the  tree  puts  forth  its  maximum  amount 
of  foliage,  when  the  wave  of  growth  culminates.  The 
tree  has  now  obtained  its  greatest  elevation  and  its  widest 
spread.  Thus,  precisely  the  same  accelerated  and  gradu- 
ally retarded  growth  which  is  manifested  by  the  un- 
branched  first  year's  shoot,  pervades  the  entire  fabric  of 
the  tree.  The  law  of  each  part  of  a  tree  is  thus  beautifully 
and  clearly  expressed  in  the  whole  tree. 

It  has  been  intimated  that  not  only  the  entire  tree,  but 
each  branch  and  branchlet  has  its  own  independent  and 
characteristic  wavelet.  It  is  for  this  reason,  whilst  the 
tree  is  growing,  that  it  is  perpetually  changing  its  form, 
year  after  year.  The  greatest  individual  freedom  predo- 
minates. Each  shoot,  each  smaller  and  greater  shoot 
system,  grows  after  its  own  fashion.  Sometimes  here, 
sometimes  there,  one  or  two  branches  take  the  lead 
awhile,  to  be  overgrown  and  hidden  from  view  in  suc- 
ceeding years  by  the  more  powerful  development  of  the 
lower  and  surrounding  branches.  Each  year  the  tree 
changes  its  form,  yet  such  is  the  wonderful  power  of  cen- 
tralization and  the  subjection  of  all  its  parts  to  the  law  im- 
pressed on  the  seed,  that  the  tree  always  retains  the  same 
peculiar  landscape  character.  To  nothing  is  more  strik- 
ingly applicable  than  to  the  tree-form,  what  Goethe,  the 
German  poet  said  of  Nature  :  "  She  creates  eternally  new 
forms;  what  there  is,  was  yet  never;  what  was,  comes  not 
again.  All  is  new,  and  yet  always  the  old."*  These  fluc- 

*  "  Sie  schafft  ewig  neu  Gestalten  ;  was  da  ist,  war  noch  nie,  was  war, 
kommt  nicht  wieder.  Alles  ist  neu  und  doch  immer  das  Alte." 

7 


98  OSCILLATIONS   OR    VIBRATIONS 

tuations  in  the  landscape  figure  or  outline  of  a  growing 
tree,  resemble  the  living  play  of  a  fountain  which  is  inex- 
haustible in  new  forms,  and  yet  remains  so  similar  to  it- 
self, that  the  spectator  in  the  distance  might  almost  be- 
lieve himself  to  perceive  a  solid  form  hewn  out  of  marble. 

This  constancy  of  the  form  or  peculiar  characteristic 
landscape  expression  of  the  tree,  through  all  its  fluctua- 
tions, in  the  earlier  stages  of  its  growth,  shows  the  pre- 
dominating influence  of  the  grand  life-wave,  which  carries 
forward  all  the  minor  fluctuations  of  the  branches,  and 
affords  the  highest  proof  not  only  of  the  individuality  of 
the  tree,  but  of  the  organic  unity  of  all  its  parts. 

There  is  then  in  the  development  of  the  entire  tree,  one 
grand,  all-pervading  wave  of  growth,  or  an  acceleration  of 
the  yearly  growths  made  by  all  its  parts  up  to  a  determined 
stage  of  culmination,  and  from  thence,  to  the  end  of  its 
life,  a  progressive  remission  follows.  For  the  life-wave 
culminates  when  the  tree  has  gained  its  maximum  height 
and  spread,  and  puts  forth  its  reproductive  organs  or 
flowers.  Its  growth  is  then  slowly  retarded,  for  repro- 
duction is  always  a  check  upon  vegetation, — the  vegeta- 
tive efforts  of  each  season  being  absorbed  by  the  repro- 
ductive. 

And  now,  reader,  imagine  yourself  seated  with  me  be- 
neath the  shade  of  some  grand  and  glorious  old  tree.  I 
am  going  to  let  you  into  the  secret  of  a  few  bright  guiding 
thoughts,  which  cheer  me  along  through  life.  Spring  has 
covered  this  tree  with  another  generation  of  bright,  green 
leaves,  all  of  which  are  at  work  on  its  fabric,  and  usefully 
employed.  They  will  soon  pass  away,  and  others  will  take 
their  place,  for  Nature  knows  no  backward  movements. 
How  many  such  generations  of  leaves  have  already  ex- 
pended life  in  building  up  this  tree  ! 

Reader,  your  position  and  mine  on  this  earth  resembles 
that  of  the  leaves  on  this  tree.  We  are  only  here  for  a 
little  space  of  time.  Many  generations  have  preceded  us, 
and  coming  generations  will  soon  take  our  place.  The 
wise  and  good  of  all  ages  have  been  trying  to  improve  this 


OF   GROWTH   IN   TREES.  99 

world  and  its  inhabitants,  and,  as  the  result  of  their  labors, 
we  have  now  a  social  organization  called  civilized  society. 
There  certainly  can  be  no  question  as  to  the  necessity  of 
further  improvements.  These  must  be  founded  on  Nature. 
Whilst  we  live,  then,  let  us  employ  ourselves  usefully,  and 
help  to  diffuse  science,  peace,  prosperity,  and  contentment. 
Let  us  try  to  build  up  a  noble  social  tree. 

If  we  study  the  economy  of  labor  amongst  these  leaves, 
we  shall  find  that  they  "help  each  other  along."  The 
lower  leaves  on  the  shoot,  for  instance,  prepare  the  sap 
or  nutrient  material  for  the  leaves  above  them,  the  little 
twigs  assist  to  develope  the  branchlets,  and  the  branchlets 
aid  in  the  growth  of  the  branches.  In  point  of  fact,  the 
whole  tree  may  be  regarded  as  a  "  Mutual  Aid  Society  ;" 
and  thus  should  it  be  in  this  world. 

The  tree  is  all  the  time  changing  its  form,  and  in  like 
manner  society  is  ever  changing  its  aspect  through  all  its 
ramifications.  Through  want  of  life-energy  and  industry, 
some  are  losing  gradually  that  social  position  to  which 
they  were  elevated  by  their  ancestors.  They  are  rapidly 
losing  the  sap*  for  which  all  are  contending.  This  is  now 
being  diverted  away  from  them  to  other  channels,  to  indi- 
vidual shoots  and  branches,  where  there  is  more  vital  ac- 
tivity, fofr  sap  is  always  attracted  to  these  parts;  these 
stranger  shoots  are  becoming  more  and  more  conspicuous 
in  the  social  tree,  and  will  soon  overtop  and  conceal  them. 
It  is  thus  that  the  rich  sometimes  become  poor,  and  the 
poor  rich. 

But  there  are  other  causes  which  effect  great  social 
changes  in  a  community.  Sometimes  the  form  of  a  tree 
changes  in  consequence  of  storms ;  its  branches  are  broken 
off  by  powerful  winds.  And  what  man  is  sure  for  one 
moment  against  calamity  !  This  is  so  well  known,  that  the 
words  "  in  prosperity  prepare  for  adversity"  have  passed 
into  a  proverb.  How  frequently  have  the  fruits  of  years 
of  toil  and  privation  been  lost  in  a  single  hour ! 

*  Sap,  or  dollars — that  circulating  medium  so  necessary  to  the  develop- 
ment of  individuals  and  societies  in  civilized  communities. 


100  OSCILLATIONS  OR   VIBRATIONS 

It  has,  however,  been  shown  that  the  injury  done  to  the 
tree  is  soon  effaced,  that  when  branches  are  thus  removed, 
those  less  developed  get  the  sap  which  they  monopolized. 
And  does  not  precisely  the  same  law  obtain  in  society  ? 
If  any  body  suffers  in  person  or  pocket,  somebody  is  sure 
to  benefit.  Hence  the  force  of  the  old  Scotch  proverb, 
"  It's  an  ill  wind  that  blaws  naebody  ony  luck." 

But  the  most  remarkable  and  interesting  feature  about 
a  tree  is  the  fact  that  it  is  a  body  so  easily  impressible.  All 
its  periodical  changes  from  a  state  of  rest  to  that  of  motion, 
those  waves  of  growth  of  which  we  have  spoken,  have  left 
an  indelible  impression  in  the  solid  parts  of  its  fabric.  All 
the  bright  and  stormy  days  of  its  life,  every  wind  that  has 
shaken  its  foliage,  and  every  rain-drop  that  has  wetted  its 
roots,  have  helped  to  mould  its  physical  organization,  and 
make  it  just  what  it  is.  We  see,  however,  that  in  the 
figure  of  its  leaves,  the  form  of  its  branches,  and  the  color 
of  its  flowers,  it  is  governed  by  peculiar  laws  of  life  im- 
pressed on  the  seed,  and  that  it  possesses  an  internal  orga- 
nizing power  by  which  it  can  to  a  certain  extent  form  it- 
self, notwithstanding  the  indelible  impressions  left  on  its 
organization  by  the  events  of  its  life. 

And  is  it  not  thus  with  the  successive  generations  of 
man  ?  Like  the  flowers  of  the  field  and  the  tr#es  of  the 
forest,  do  not  we  all  develope  according  to  the  same  general 
laws  running  through  the  same  cycle  of  life-changes — of 
infancy,  maturity,  decay,  and  dissolution  ?  Yet  each  indi- 
vidual is  governed  by  a  peculiar  specific  law.  Is  there  not 
an  individuality  about  each  of  us  ?  Hence,  like  the  plants 
around  us,  do  we  not  possess,  to  a  certain  extent,  an  orga- 
nizing power  within  ourselves  ?  Like  the  trees,  we  are  in- 
separably connected  with  the  material  world,  from  whence 
our  organization  derives  impressions.  "We  are  a  part  of 
the  universe.  The  matter  of  which  our  bodies  are  com- 
posed, like  that  of  trees  and  flowers,  is  held  together  by 
attraction,  and  after  a  while,  like  them,  the  present  living 
generation  will  disappear  from  the  landscape, — dissolved 
into  earth  and  air.  But  not  an  atom  perishes.  The  same 


OF   GROWTH   IN   TREES.  101 

matter  again  reappears  in  other  forms  of  life  and  beauty. 
It  is  not  the  first  time  that  the  matter  which  composes  the 
present  living  organized  creation  has  been  vitalized.  How 
then  can  this  grant!  machine  of  Nature  be  without  guid- 
ance ?  Who  will  say  that  there  is  no  plan  or  system  in 
this  thing  ?  Is  it  not  also  plain,  that  we  are  connected 
with  the  past  and  future  in  adamantine  chains,  and  that 
the  species  of  independency  and  separation  from  external 
nature  which  we  attribute  to  ourselves  is  a  mere  figment  ? 
And  if  matter  is  thus  imperishable,*  then  gravity,  heat, 
light,  electricity  (those  forces  which  control  matter),  are 
also  eternal.  And  why  should  not  mind  be  immortal — 
mind,  the  highest  force  in  the  universe,  which  now  guides 
the  lightnings,  and  to  form  and  advance  which  is  the  de- 
sign of  this  vast  system  of  sea  and  land,  air  and  skies  ?  It 
is  natural  for  a  noble  mind  to  desire  immortality.  But  if 
man  is  not  immortal,  then  in  vain  a  nation  weeps  for  its 
mighty  dead,  and  erects  its  noblest  cenotaphs.  Where 
will  they  be  when  the  perpetual  beat  of  ocean  shall  have 
shattered  to  ashes  these  continents,  and  the  Alps  and  the 
Andes,  those  majestic  monuments  of  Nature,  lie  entombed 
under  its  rolling  waters  ?  Matter  and  the  forces  which 
govern  it  are  eternal,  and  human  life  (I  mean  that  life 
which  we  Jiave  in  common  with  plants),  is  a  mere  integralf 

*  There  is  not  now  and,  in  the  author's  opinion,  never  was,  a  chaos  or 
state  of  things  in  which  the  atoms  of  material  bodies  were  heterogeneously 
disposed.  All  the  researches  of  science  tend  to  show  that  matter  has  al- 
ways been  subject  to  law.  It  is  not  impossible  for  the  matter  of  our  earth 
to  have  existed  in  some  other  form  anterior  to  its  attraction  together  about 
the  earth's  centre,  and  when  the  earth  shall  have  answered  the  purposes  of 
its  creation,  when  she  shall  grow  weary  in  her  diurnal  march,  and  the  ocean 
roll  its  last  billow,  the  winds  breathe  their  last  gasp,  may  not  the  matter  of 
the  earth,  like  that  of  one  of  the  beautiful  trees  and  flowers  which  have 
disappeared  from  its  surface,  still  be  in  existence,  and  reappear  again  in 
some  other  form,  to  beautify  the  heavens  and  go  through  another  grand 
cycle  of  change  ? 

f  Integral,  the  sum  of  a  series  of  differentials  or  infinitely  small  quanti- 
ties. The  moments  of  human  life  are  its  differentials,  and  human  life  itself 
is  their  sum  or  integral. 


102  OSCILLATIONS   OR   VIBRATIONS 

portion  of  eternity ;  yet,  why  doubt  the  immortality  of  that 
higher  manifestation  of  life  called  mind,  when  it  can  sweep 
over  the  vastness  of  Nature  and  unfold  the  principles  of 
things  ?  If  the  value  of  man  is  to  be  estimated  by  the 
duration  of  his  frail  and  perishable  body,  then  is  he  of  less 
importance  than  the  tree  which  he  fells  for  timber,  for  that 
frequently  outlives  him  and  his  successive  generations. 
Oh,  let  us  not  think  thus  meanly  of  ourselves  !  The  mind 
is  the  man  ;  and  "  one  living  mind  is  worth  more  than  a 
dead  universe."  Never  can  I  sympathize  with  those  who 
seek  to  inspire  man  with  low,  reptile  feelings,  and  try  to 
shame  him  out  of  his  trust  in  his  Creator.  What  moral 
good  can  ever  result  to  the  human  race  from  the  advocacy 
of  such  sentiments  ? 

I  see  the  sun  now  sinking  in  the  West.  He  is  casting 
his  parting  rays  on  our  landscapes.  How  beautiful  the  light 
reflected  from  the  clouds  in  his  neighborhood  !  Another 
beat  of  the  great  pendulum  of  the  universe !  Whence  that 
thought  ?  It  arises  from  my  appreciation  of  the  advance 
of  Nature.  The  landscapes  are  now  enveloped  in  the 
earth's  shadow.  It  is  night.  Why  did  that  sunset  give 
me  so  much  pleasure  ?  Because  the  sun  was  made  to 
minister  to  my  gratification.  I  am  then  of  more  import- 
ance than  that  sun.  Yet  it  shone  myriads  of  ages  before 
I  came  to  regard  its  splendors,  and  it  will  soon  shine  on 
my  lowly  grave.  That  will  contain  my  body,  but  NOT  ME. 
Others  shall  look  on  thy  setting  beauties,  thou  glorious 
sun,  and  read  these  lines  when  I  am  gone,  and  oh!  may 
they  inspire  in  them  my  own  unfaltering  faith  in  Provi- 
dence and  immortality ! 

As  the  tree  is  connected  with  the  material  world  and  re- 
ceives impressions  from  without  which  mould  its  character, 
so  with  the  organism  of  man.  He  is  bound  by  inseparable 
ties  to  the  material  creation.  Locke  in  his  "  Essay  on  the 
Human  Understanding,"  has  shown  us  the  nature  of  this 
connection :  that  sensation  links  us  with  matter,  is  the 
germ  of  intellect,  and  the  avenue  of  human  knowledge. 


OF    GROWTH   IN   TREES.  103 

Notwithstanding  the  unbounded  liberty  which  the  mind 
of  man  seems  to  possess,  it  is  in  reality  confined  within 
very  narrow  limits ;  for  when  we  carefully  analyze  our 
ideas,  simple  and  complex,  we  can  trace  them  without  an 
exception  to  past  impressions  made  on  our  organization. 
We  can  form  no  conception  of  anything  without  a  refer- 
ence to  ideas  previously  acquired  by  the  senses.  I  may 
conceive  of  a  golden  mountain,  but  it  is  obvious  that  if  I 
had  not  previously  acquired,  by  impressions  from  external 
Nature,  the  ideas  of  mountain  and  gold,  it  would  have  been 
impossible  to  have  formed  the  combination. 

We  are  very  frequently  compelled  to  receive  ideas  in- 
dependently of  our  will.  I  may,  for  instance,  be  looking 
out  of  my  window,  and  see  a  man  shot  down,  and  a  year 
afterwards  recollect  the  circumstance.  I  have  thus  invol- 
untarily acquired  an  idea.  Impressions  thus  received, 
when  powerful  and  painful,  will  recur  again  and  again, 
and  influence  our  conduct  through  life. 

Now  if  our  knowledge  of  an  external  object  was  limited 
to  the  moment  of  perception,  and  was  extinguished  for- 
ever with  the  fading  sensation  which  gave  it  birth,  if  we 
had  no  memory  of  past  impressions,  then  we  should  be 
creatures  utterly  incapable  of  reasoning  or  reflection. 
But  we  are  so  constituted  that  the  knowledge  derived 
from  without  lives  within  us.  All  our  past  impressions 
are  secured  to  us.  They  are  associated  together  accord- 
ing to  certain  laws,  which  have  evidently  been  contrived 
with  the  most  admirable  adaptation  to  our  wants,  so  as  to 
bring  again  the  knowledge  previously  acquired  by  the 
senses  at  the  very  time  when  its  return  is  the  most  profit- 
able. "  A  burnt  child  fears  the  fire,"  for  example.  Hence 
we  are  ever  expanding  ourselves  over  the  long  series  of  our 
past  sensations,  for  memory  is  the  mind  relapsing  into  a 
former  state,  and  the  use  of  reason  becomes  more  and 
more  apparent,  as  these  sensations  from  the  external  world 
are  increased  in  number  and  variety. 

How  beautifully  are  the  upper  and  lower  extremities  of  a 


104  OSCILLATIONS   OR   VIBRATIONS 

tree  organized  with  reference  to  the  earth  and  atmosphere ! 
The  fibres  on  the  roots  and  the  leaves  on  the  branches — 
how  different  in  form  and  color  !  Yet  both  are  ahsorbents 
beautifully  adapted  to  the  media  in  which  they  develope. 
In  like  manner  is  the  organization  of  man  adapted  to  the 
material  creation  spread  around.  His  eye  is  beautifully 
adapted  to  receive  the  light,  his  ear  is  formed  for  the  re- 
ception of  sound ;  his  body,  in  fact,  is  an  apparatus  most 
exquisitely  contrived  to  render  him  sensible  to  the  nature 
of  external  things.  Hence,  Nature  is  the  great  teacher. 
In  childhood  we  are  the  most  passive  and  impressible. 
We  spend  life  in  a  state  of  constant  and  curious  excite- 
ment. We  are  perpetually  stimulated  by  the  presence  of 
new  objects,  and  every  hour  brings  with  it  stores  of  facts 
and  natural  appearances,  the  rich  materials  of  our  future 
knowledge.  Nature  is  pouring  in  instruction  at  every 
avenue  of  sense.  As  we  advance  in  years,  we  become 
familiar  with  common  objects,  and  our  attention  is  natu- 
rally drawn  away  from  the  discovery  of  what  is  new  to 
the  study  and  examination  of  that  which  is  old.  The  vast 
variety  of  phenomena  which  have  made  an  impression  on 
us  are  brought  under  review,  and  the  feverish  astonish- 
ment of  childhood  gives  place  to  the  calm  of  manly  con- 
templation. Then  commence  those  first  attempts  at  gene- 
ralization which  mark  the  dawn  of  science  in  the  mind, 
and  from  the  lessons  of  the  past  we  now  draw  the  mate- 
rials of  our  future  wisdom. 

Every  wind  and  rain-drop  has  helped  to  mould  the  cha- 
racter of  this  tree.  And  it  is  a  great  truth,  which  well 
deserves  to  be  regarded,  that  not  only  the  peculiarities  of 
their  organization,  but  the  circumstances  by  which  they 
are  surrounded,  form  those  endlessly  diversified  varieties 
of  human  character  which  we  meet  with  in  our  passage 
through  life.  Like  the  different  trees  of  a  forest,  the  in- 
dividuality of  men  is  the  result  of  the  controlling  influence 
of  peculiar  laws  of  organization  and  the  circumstances  in 
which  they  are  placed. 


OF   GROWTH   IN   TREES.  105 

The  tree  unfolds  from  the  seed  and  runs  through  all  the 
various  phases  of  its  life,  according  to  peculiar  laws  which 
•are  ineffaceable,  and  can  never  be  set  aside  by  circumstances, 
adverse  or  otherwise.  And,  like  the  trees  and  flowers,  human 
nature  exists  under  a  vast  variety  of  form.  We  differ  from 
each  other,  not  only  in  our  features,  but  in  our  tastes  and 
modes  of  thought.  These  differences  of  character  are  consti- 
tutional, the  result  of  the  operation  of  those  peculiar  laws 
of  life  which  have  governed  us  from  the  commencement  of 
existence.  This  variety  of  talent  and  disposition  is  a  wise 
and  benevolent  provision  of  Nature.  It  brings  men  together. 
It  enables  them  to  be  of  service  to  each  other,  and  thus 
strengthens  the  bonds  of  mutual  dependence,  respect,  and 
good-will.  Since,  then,  human  nature  is  so  constituted,  it 
shows  not  only  ignorance  and  narrowness  of  mind,  but  a  want 
of  courtesy  and  even  common  sense,  to  cherish  unkind  feel- 
ings toward  any  man  for  a  mere  difference  of  opinion,  or  a 
want  of  sympathy  with  us  in  our  favorite  pursuits.  On  the 
contrary,  charity  and  forbearance  are  indicative  of  a  mind 
enlightened,  expanded,  and  noble.  It  is  an  endorsement  of  the 
fact  that  its  possessor  appreciates  freedom.  We  cannot  all 
think  alike.  There  are  natural  antipathies  and  mutual  attrac- 
tions. If  the  former  were  not  a  reality,  the  latter  could  have 
no  existence,  and  life  would  be  without  some  of  its  choicest 
blessings — the  sweet  sympathies  of  mutual  love,  and  the  warm 
and  appreciating  grasp  of  the  hand  of  friendship. 

A  tree  cannot  flourish  in  an  unfavorable  soil,  however 
healthy  the  germ  which  the  seed  encloses.  So  a  man  may 
be  richly  endowed  with  natural  talent,  and  yet  that  talent 
will  continue  rudimentary,  and  ultimately  become  abortive 
through  the  long  continuance  of  unfavorable  circumstances. 
These  facts  ought  ever  to  be  borne  in  mind  if  we  would  form 
a  just  appreciation  of  others.  The  first  duty  which  a  man 
owes  to  himself  is  to  develop  himself.  Circumstances  form 
character.  "  He  that  walketh  with  wise  men  shall  be  wise, 
but  a  companion  of  fools  shall  be  destroyed."  There  must 
be  an  affinity  for  what  is  true  and  noble,  and  then  there  will 
be  progress.  We  may  extricate  ourselves  from  an  unfavorable 


106  OSCILLATIONS   OK  VIBRATIONS,    ETC. 

position.  By  honorable,  right-angled  or  upright  behavior,  we 
may  awaken  sympathy  in  the  bosom  of  the  wise,  the  just,  and 
the  benevolent.  We  may  impress  them  favorably,  and  they 
will  necessarily  become  our  friends.  It  is  a  law  of  Nature, 
that  virtue  and  integrity  shall  have  their  reward.  Is  not  this 
a  plain  indication  of  that  pathway  through  life  over  which 
men  ought  to  travel  ? 

And  let  us  never  forget  that  we  mutually  impress  each 
other  by  every  action  of  our  lives.  If  we  violate  a  contract 
made  with  another,  we  produce  a  bad  impression,  and  we 
injure  not  only  the  man  but  the  community.  That  unfavor- 
able impression  is  retained,  and  it  may  be  a  generous  and 
confiding  man  has  been  rendered,  for  life,  penurious  and  dis- 
trustful. But  if  we  keep  our  contract,  we  produce  a  good 
impression,  which  is  quite  as  permanent — the  man  has  con- 
fidence in  us,  and  we  impel  him  to  increased  confidence  in 
his  species.  He  meets  us  with  a  bright  smile  because  we 
have  done  well.  If  men  only  reflected  thoroughly  on  the 
power  of  external  circumstances  and  individual  laws  of 
organization,  they  would  act  with  greater  wisdom  and  justice 
toward  each  other. 

Far  be  it  from  me  to  insinuate  in  these  pages  that  man  is 
ever  carried  to  any  line  of  conduct  by  physical  impulse  or 
necessity.  If  we  suppose  this,  then  man  becomes  a  mere 
machine;  and  no  longer  responsible  for  his  conduct,  he  is 
unworthy  of  either  praise  or  blame.  Virtue  becomes  a  fig- 
ment. Every  action  of  his  life  is  the  result  of  choice,  and 
that  choice  connects  itself  with  a  degree  of  moral  responsi- 
bility proportioned  to  the  extent  to  which  he  has  a  clear  and 
adequate  perception  of  his  obligations.  The  very  idea  of 
virtue  implies  resistance  to  temptation  and  an  enlightened 
and  willing  fulfillment  of  duty. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  LEAF  WITH  THE  ENTIRE  EDGE  IS  ALONE  TO  BE  RE- 
GARDED AS  A  SIMPLE  LEAF — THE  LEAF  TAKES  A  HIGHER 
FORM  OF  ORGANIZATION,  AND  BECOMES  COMPOUND  IN 
PROPORTION  TO  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  FIBROUS  POR- 
TION OF  ITS  LAMINA — ALL  THE  IRREGULARITIES  OF  ITS 
MARGIN,  SUCH  AS  LOBES,  TEETH,  CRENATURES,  SERRA- 
TURES,  RESULT  FROM  AN  EFFORT  AT  NEW  LEAFLET- 
FORMATION  ARRESTED  IN  ITS  FIRST  STAGES. 

THE  commonest  leaf-form  in  the  vegetable  world,  which 
must  therefore  be  regarded  as  the  fundamental  type  or  normal 
form,  consists  of  two  parts — a  stalk  or  support,  called  the 
petiole,  and  an  expanded  part  called  the  lamina  or  blade.  To 
such  organs  the  term  leaf  was  formerly  restricted.  But  it  is 
now  admitted  by  all  physiologists,  that  this  term  is  equally 
applicable  to  all  the  organs  of  the  periphery  of  the  plant 
which  develop  laterally  during  the  growth  of  the  axis,  and 
which  are  distinguished  from  the  ordinary  stem  leaves  by  the 
use  of  the  terms  bud-scales,  stipules,  bracts,  sepals,  petals, 
stamens,  and  pistils.  All  these  different  varieties  of  leaf-form 
pass  by  intermediate  gradations  into  one  another,  so  that  this 
classification  is  wholly  arbitrary,  and  the  terms  are  merely 
used  as  convenient  references  to  those  varieties  which  are  the 
most  decidedly  marked.  Now,  what  is  the  evidence  on  which 
this  doctrine  rests?  Is.it  not  transition  forms?  Does  not 
the  whole  science  of  Vegetable  Morphology  rest  on  this 
foundation?  The  following  facts  presented  in  this  chapter 
are  only  the  fruit  of  a  careful  application  of  precisely  the 
same  principles  of  research.  Transition  forms  show  ties  of 
relationship  subsisting  between  the  most  dissimilar  organs 
and  often  lead  to  conclusions  at  which  Naturalists  themselves 

(107) 


108  DEVELOPMENT   OF   COMPOUND 

are  at  first  completely  astounded.  Nature  herself  by  this 
means  teaches  us  her  own  processes,  and  this  too  by  such 
evidence  as  none  can  gainsay  or  deny. 

The  reproductive  always  exhausts  the  vegetative  force. 
All  physiologists  will  concede  me  this  ground  unhesitatingly. 
It  is  well  known  that  this  is  one  of  those  grand  laws  which 
govern  every  form  of  organized  matter.  Animals  (md  plants 
must  first  vegetate  before  they  can  reproduce ;  and  reproduc- 
tion in  both  always  checks  growth  and  exhausts  the  vital 
powers*of  the  organism.  Hence  leaves  take  a  simpler  form 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  flower.  They  are  not  so  highly 
organized,  because  their  development  is  gradually  arrested, 
and  the  vegetative  force  diminishes  in  intensity  as  the  repro- 
ductive force  becomes  manifest.  There  is  a  mutual  antago- 
nism between  these  two  forces.  There  can  be  no  doubt  as  to 
the  influence  exercised  by  this  law  in  modifying  the  foliage 
of  plants.  It  is  only  necessary  to  compare  the  leaves  in  the 
neighborhood  cf  the  flower  with  those  at  some  distance  from 
it,  in  the  vegetative  region,  to  see  the  gradual  simplification 
of  leaf-structure,  as  we  pass  from  the  vegetative  to  the  floral 
region. 

Now,  such  investigations  are  exceedingly  instructive ;  for 
if  we  carefully  examine  the  leaves  of  plants  at  different  points 
of  height  along  the  stem,  it  will  be  seen  that  they  present 
notable  differences  of  form,  and  that  the  most  intimate  ties 
of  relationship  subsist  between^  lobes,  crenatures,  teeth,  etc. 
Generally  speaking,  the  leaves  attached  toward  the  inferior 
portion  of  the  stem  are  cut  into  teeth  or  lobes  more  or  less 
numerous,  and  are  connected  with  the  stem  by  a  petiole  or 
stalk ;  but  in  proportion  as  they  are  situated  near  the  flower, 
they  become  smaller,  lose  their  stall£vor  support,  and  become 
sessile,  the  teeth,  lobes  and  other  irregularities  disappear  from 
the  margin  of  their  lamina,  which  becomes  entire,  and  they 
gradually  approach  the  floral  leaves  in  form,  until  ^finally  they 
cannot  be  distinguished  from  them  except  by  their  position 
around  the  stem.  The  gradHbl  disappearance  'pf  the  serratures 
from  the  margin  of  the  leaves  in  proportion  to  their  proximity 
to  the  flowers,  may  be  seen  to  advantage  in  the  different 


FROM   SIMPLE   LEAVES.  109 

species  of  Solidago,  or  Golden-rod,  and  the  passage  of  lobes 
into  crenatures  in  the  Swamp  mallow  (Hibiscus  moscheutos). 

The  stem  leaves,  however,  not  only  vary  in  form  in  pro- 
portion as  we  pass  from  the  vegetative  to  the  reproductive 
region,  but  they  vary  in  the  midst  of  the  vegetative  region 
itself.  The  polymorphous  condition  of  the  foliage  of  the 
paper  mulberry  (Brousonettia  papyri/era),  and  the  common 
Sassafras  (Sassafras  officinalis),  is  well  known.  On  these  trees 
scarcely  any  two  leaves  can  be  collected  which  have  precisely 
the  same  figure.  The  variability  of  the  foliage  in  this  case 
cannot  arise,  as  in  the  former,  from  the  gradual  decrease  in 
the  vegetative  tendencies  of  the  leaves  in  consequence  of  the 
tendency  to  the  exercise  of  the  reproductive  function — there 
must  be  some  other  cause. 

In  Chapter  VI.  we  have  shown  that  the  growth  of  trees 
may  be  compared,  not  to  the  steady  and  continuous  flow  of 
a  stream,  but  to  the  rising  and  falling  of  a  wave ;  and  that  the 
tree,  whilst  growing,  is  in  a  state  of  continual  oscillation,  as  it 
were,  between  a  condition  of  progress  and  one  of  stand-still. 
Now,  the  difference  of  growth  amongst  the  shoots,  not  only 
during  the  same  year,  but  for  a  succession  of  years,  may  be 
traced  to  this  accelerated  and  retarded  wave  of  growth,  or  the 
ever- varying  condition  of  the  vegetative  force  throughout  the 
season;  and  the  fluctuations  of  the  same  wave  leave  their 
traces  in  the  foliage  of  the  shoots.  In  herbaceous  annuals 
and  perennials  this  wave  obtains  its  maximum  elevation 
where  the  leaves  are  most  developed,  and  is  depressed  to  a 
minimum  in  the  flower.  The  same  wave  is  visible  in  the 
leaves  of .  ligneous  perennials  or  trees,  which  are  generally 
much  smaller  toward  the  bottom  of  each  new  shoot,  and 
larger  toward  its  centre  and  summit. 

Now,  when  polymorphous  leaves  appear  on  such  of  the 
shoots  and  branches  of  a  tree  as  are  purely  vegetative,  this 
wave  of  growth  must  be  taken  into  consideration  in  com- 
paring them  with  each  other.  It  will  be  found  that  the  leaves 
with  the  greatest  number  of  lobes  and  other  marginal  irregu- 
larities are  invariably  developed  at  those  points  of  the  shoot 
where  the  vegetative  force  is  the  greatest,  or  where  the  wave 


110  DEVELOPMENT   OF   COMPOUND 

of  growth  is  at  its  maximum,  and  that  they  take  a  simpler 
form,  their  fibrous  portion  or  framework  being  less  developed, 
as  the  vegetative  force  diminishes  in  intensity,  or  the  wave 
of  growth  is  gradually  depressed  along  the  axis  of  the  shoot. 
Hence,  this  variability  in  the  form  of  the  leaves  on  such 
shoots  and  branches  as  are  purely  vegetative,  arises  from  the 
operation  of  the  same  common  laws  of  accelerated  and  re- 
tarded growth  which  pervades  the  branches. 

On  some  trees,  such  as  the  sassafras  and  paper  mulberry, 
with  polymorphous  foliage,  if  we  collect  and  .compare  the 
different  varieties  of  leaf  we  shall  find  that  they  invariably 
take  a  higher  form  of  organization  in  proportion  to  the 
development  of  the  fibrous  portion  of  their  lamina.  The 
truly  simple  leaf  is  in  fact  the  one  with  an  entire  edge,  and 
all  other  varieties  of  leaf  having  irregularities  of  margin,  such 
as  lobes,  dentations,  crenatures,  serratures,  must  be  regarded  as 
leaves  in  a  certain  stage  of  progress  to  a  compound  condition, 
for  the  above  marginal  irregularities  are  in  reality  an  effort 
at  new  leaflet  formation  arrested  in  its  first  stages. 

We  commence  this  demonstration  with  the  case  of  lobed 
leaves,  which  is  the  most  obvious. 

The  lobed  variety  of  leaf  is  caused  by  two  or  more  partially 
formed  leaflets,  which  are  organically  united  with  each  other 
and  develop  in  the  same  plane.  The  upper  part  of  the  lamina 
of  these  leaflets  is  the  only  portion  of  them  which  is  fully 
formed,  and  it  is  this  which  gives  to  such  leaves  their  lobed 
appearance. 

For  let  the  polymorphous  foliage  of  the  common  blackberry 
(Rubus  villosus),  see  Plate  III.,  be  carefully  studied,  and  a  com- 
parison instituted  between  the  different  varieties  of  its  leaves. 
Every  intermediate  grade  of  development  may  be  traced 
between  lobes  and  leaflets,  the  various  vegetative  stages  in 
the  passage  of  the  former  into  the  latter  having  been  left 
visible  in  the  leaves  of  this  plant.  We  have  monographed 
a  few  of  the  more  prominent  forms  to  show  their  connection, 
and  give  the  reader  an  idea  of  our  method  of  observing 
Nature.  But  all  the  intermediate  varieties  can  be  collected, 
and  thus  the  truth  of  the  above  proposition  may  be  verified. 


FROM    SIMPLE    LEAVES. 

Fl.3 


111 


112  DEVELOPMENT   OF   COMPOUND 

Now,  it  is  plain,  from  simple  inspection  of  the  fibrous  part 
of  these  different  varieties  of  leaf,  that  in  proportion  as  that 
is  developed,  the  leaf  itself  becomes  more  highly  organized. 
These  leaves  were  detached  in  regular  order  from  the  side 
of  the  shoot,  commencing  with  those  situated  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  flower  and  proceeding  downward  into  the  vege- 
tative region.  At  a  we  have  the  lamina  of  the  leaf  with  only 
a  biserrate  margin,  and  no  petiole.  This  specimen  was  nearest 
the  flower.  At  b  we  have  a  trilobed  condition  of  the  lamina, 
or  a  partial  formation  of  one  terminal  and  two  lateral  leaflets. 
At  c  one  of  the  leaflets  is  formed ;  and  the  other  two  are  still 
in  a  state  of  anastomosis,  d,  The  three  leaflets  detached  from 
each  other  and  fully  formed,  e,  The  same  more  developed. 
/,  A  bilobed  condition  of  one  of  the  leaflets,  and  an  increased 
development  of  the  petiole,  g,  Both  of  the  leaflets  bilobed. 
A,  One  of  the  new  leaflets  fully  formed,  i,  Complete  forma- 
tion of  both  of  the  new  leaflets. 

Here,  then,  we  have  plainly  visible  the  intermediate  stages 
in  the  formation  of  the  lamina  or  blade  of  a  leaf  with  only  a 
biserrate  margin,  into  five  distinct  leaflets.  Surely,  after 
such  a  lesson  from  Nature,  we  may  safely  regard  the  lobed 
variety  of  leaf  as  the  condition  of  a  lamina  whose  leaflets  are 
in  a  state  of  partial  formation,  and  remain  still  organically 
united  with  each  other. 

The  leaves  of  the  swamp  maple  (Acer  rubrum),  the  sugar 
maple  (Acer  saccharinum),  the  Plane-tree  maple  (Acer  pseudo- 
platanus),  and  the  Castor-oil  (Ricinus  communis),  Plate  IV., 
Figs.  1,  2,  3,  4,  may  therefore  be  regarded  as  transition  forms 
between  simple  and  compound  leaves.  In  all  these  cases  the 
lamina  of  the  leaf  consists  of  several  partially -formed  anasto- 
mosing leaflets,  whose  number  is  indicated  by  the  number  of 
lobes,  and  the  extent  to  which  their  formation  has  been 
carried,  by  the  depth  of  the  divisions  between  the  lobes, 
precisely  as  the  number  of  petals  and  sepals  united  and  the 
extent  of  their  union  is  shown  in  the  gamopetalous  and  gamo- 
sepalous  envelopes  of  the  flower,  by  the  number  of  lobes  or 
teeth  on  their  superior  margin. 

When  the  fibrous  ramifications  of  these  lobed  leaves  are 


FEOM   SIMPLE  LEAVES.  113 

prominent  on  their  under  surface,  as  in  the  Castor-oil  plant, 
by  simple  inspection  of  that  under  surface,  we  can  easily  trace 
out  the  fibrous  portion  of  each  forming  leaflet  in  the  blade 
of  the  leaf,  and  thus  satisfactorily  arrive  at  the  same  conclu- 
sion, that  the  entire  blade  itself  is  a  composition  of  partially 
formed  and  organically  united  leaflets.  Because  the  lateral 
veins  given  off  by  the  midrib  of  each  forming  leaflet  may  be 
traced  below  the  point  where  the  division  between  the  lobes 
or  blades  of  the  leaflets  ceases,  and  they  become  as  it  were 
blended  together ;  for  notwithstanding  the  confluence  of  the 
fibre  and  parenchyma  of  the  leaflets  below  this  point,  their 
lateral  veins  still  continue  to  be  given  off  with  the  utmost 
regularity,  even  down  to  their  point  of  divergence  at  the  apex 
of  the  common  petiole.  The  fibrous  portion  or  framework 
of  the  forming  leaflets  is  therefore  perceptible  in  the  common 
lamina  or  blade  of  the  Castor-oil  leaf;  and  it  is  not  difficult 
to  imagine  the  form  that  the  leaflet  would  assume  when  fully 
developed  and  detached  from  its  neighbor,  as  in  the  above 
case  of  Rubus  villosus.  But  the  further  development  of  the 
leaflets  of  the  Castor-oil  leaf  is  arrested  at  this  stage,  and 
therefore  they  are  never  found  separate. 

The  coalescence  or  union  of  leaves  or  leaflets  with  each 
other  in  all  instances  results  from  a  want  of  developmental 
vigor  in  that  fibrous  portion  of  their  lamina,  which  constitutes 
their  skeleton  or  framework ;  hence,  the  most  frequent  cases 
of  union  or  coalescence,  occur  among  the  floral  leaves  where 
the  vegetative  powers  of  the  plant  are  gradually  expiring. 
Thus,  when  the  sepals  or  leaves  of  the  calyx,  as  also  the  petals 
or  leaves  of  the  corolla,  coalesce,  we  have  produced  what  is 
technically  termed  a  monosepalous  (or  gamosepalous)  calyx, 
and  a  monopetalous  (or  gamopetalous)  corolla,  as  in  the  Bell- 
flower  (Campanula  Americana) ;  so,  also,  the  metamorphosed 
pollen-bearing  leaves  termed  stamens,  situated  immediately 
within  the  corolla,  may  unite  with  each  other  by  their  fila- 
ments and  become  monadelphous,  as  in  the  Mallow  and 
Geranium,  or  by  their  anthers  and  become  syngenesious,  as 
in  the  Dandelion;  or  the  filaments  and  anthers  of  all  the 
stamens  may  unite  and  form  a  single  organ,  a  sort  of  vagina 


114  DEVELOPMENT   OF   COMPOUND 

or  sheath  enclosing  the  pistil,  as  in  the  Cardinal  flower  (Lobe- 
lia Cardinalis).  In  like  manner,  the  still  more  highly  organ- 
ized pollen-receiving  leaves  called  pistils,  which  are  the  organs 
of  the  flower  most  centrally  situated,  coalesce  sometimes  by 
their  ovaries,  as  in  the  Pink,  or  by  their  ovaries  and  styles,  as 
in  the  Lily.  And  not  only  may  there  be  a  coalescence  among 
the  floral  leaves  of  the  same  circle,  but  the  different  floral 
whorls  or  circles  may  themselves  coalesce,  or  unite  with  each 
other,  as  is  the  case  in  the  Asclepias,  or  Silk -weed,  where  the 
union  of  the  stamens  and  pistils  forms  the  solid  column  in 
the  centre  of  the  flower. 

Hence  plants  whose  floral  leaves  are  still  in  a  state  of  coa- 
lescence, and  therefore  only  partially  developed,  are  very 
properly  considered  in  the  Natural  System  of  Botany  as 
ranking  lower  than  those  whose  floral  leaves  are  free  from 
each  other  and  fully  formed.  It  is  evident  that  flowers  whose 
sepals,  petals,  stamens,  and  pistils  are  each  individually  and 
completely  formed  and  free  from  each  other,  and  which  de- 
velop on  the  same  common  rudimentary  axis  or  receptacle, 
must  be  more  highly  organized  than  flowers  whose  petals  and 
sepals,  stamens  and  pistils  are  only  half-developed,  and  there- 
fore still  organically  united  with  each  other. 

That  the  leaf  should  develop  new  leaflets  from  its  margin, 
and  that  the  new  leaflets  should  remain  connected  with  the 
parent  foliole  in  different  stages  of  formation,  is  only  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  same  laws  to  which  all  the  other  organs 
of  the  plant  are  subjected.  Thus  if  we  regard  the  different 
species  of  CELL  or  simple  elementary  parts  of  plants,  we  find 
that  they  generate  cellules  of  the  same  nature  as  themselves, 
and  that  these  cellules  associated  form  the  tissues  of  their 
more  complex  organs,  such  as  their  shoots  and  branches, 
which  possess  the  same  capacity  for  self-multiplication.  For 
the  first  year's  shoot  produces  from  its  lateral  and  terminal 
buds,  shoots  which  are  constructed  in  precisely  the  same 
manner ;  and  these  again  become  individually  parent  shoots, 
until  we  have  associated  about  a  common  axis  a  series  of 
families  of  shoots  or  branches  all  actively  engaged  in  repro- 
duction. The  whole  tree  is  therefore  only  a  continuous  series 


FROM   SIMPLE    LEAVES.  115 

of  successive  generations  of  shoots,  which  remain  connected 
with  each  other  and  which  have  developed  on  the  first  year's 
shoot.  Where  is  now  that  once  slender  and  flexible  shoot 
which  formed  the  growth  of  the  first  year  and  the  basis  or 
foundation  of  all  the  succeeding  growths  ?  It  has  been  meta- 
morphosed, through  the  labors  of  its  numerous  progeny,  into 
a  stem  massive  and  unyielding,  and  the  buds  which  adhered 
to  its  surface,  after  the  fall  of  its  leaves,  have  been  replaced 
by  wide-spread  and  powerful  branches !  It  is  thus  that  the 
matter  of  the  earth  and  atmosphere  is  attracted  about  a  seed 
or  germinating  point,  and  successively  moulded  into  cells, 
leaves,  shoots,  branchlets,  and  branches,  until  at  length  a  form 
majestic  and  beautiful — a  noble  Tree  is  constructed.  How  far 
surpassing  all  the  works  of  man,  this  wondrous  living  archi- 
tecture of  Nature !  Ah !  man,  thou  canst  go  to  Nature  for 
instruction,  copy  her  faithfully  with  thy  pencil — but,  mould 
thy  material  imitations  as  thou  wilt,  thou  canst  not  give  them 
life !  These  are  secrets  which  Nature  has  hidden  from  thee ! 

There  is  a  wonderful  unity  and  harmony  pervading  all 
the  parts  of  these  works  of  Nature,  which  result  from  the 
influences  of  the  same  general  laws  to  which  the  cell,  the 
leaf,  the  branch,  and  in  fact  the  entire  tree,  are  alike  subject. 
Just  as  the  whole  tree  consists  of  a  union  of  branches  of 
various  growths,  as  the  branches  themselves  are  formed 
by  a  union  of  shoots  which  show  an  equal  amount  of  varia- 
bility in  the  extent  of  their  development,  so  the  leaves  them- 
selves, which  construct  the  shoots,  when  simple,  with  an  entire 
edge,  fully  formed  and  free  from  each,  vary  in  figure^nd 
size  on  the  same  shoot.  Even  those  leaves  which  manifest 
a  disposition  to  self-multiplication,  and  which  must  be  re- 
garded as  transitional  between  the  compound  and  simple,  in 
tho  different  sizes  of  their  lobes,  teeth,  crenatures,  serratures, 
plainly  show  that  the  forming  leaflets  are  endowed  even  from 
the  beginning  with  a  tendency  to  that  variety  of  vegetative 
energy  and  impulse  which  is  so  well-marked  a  feature  in  the 
other  organs.  This  is  the  cause  of  that  pleasing  and  infinite 
variety  of  form  assumed  by  the  foliage  of  trees — that  green 
and  graceful  drapery  with  which  they  are  annually  adorned. 


116  DEVELOPMENT   OF   COMPOUND 

Therefore  the  truly  simple  leaf  is  the  one  with  the  entire 
edge,  and  all  other  leaves  with  any  irregularities  of  margin, 
such  as  lobes,  teeth,  crenatures,  etc.,  are  transitional  forms 
between  simple  and  compound  leaves.  For  such  irregularities 
are  in  reality  so  many  incipient  advances  to  the  compound 
condition  of  the  lamina  or  blade  of  the  leaf. 

It  has  been  shown  (page  112)  that  a  leaf  can  develop  other 
leaflets  from  its  margin,  and  thus  become  a  compound  leaf. 
Now,  when  this  process  ceases  in  its  first  stages,  and  the 
apices  of  the  new  leaflets  are  only  just  visible  on  the  margin 
of  the  parent  leaf,  then  that  margin  is  rendered  serrulate, 
crenulate,  denticulate ;  or  if  the  formative  process  is  carried  a 
little  further,  so  as  to  render  the  summits  of  the  new  leaflets 
rather  more  apparent,  then  the  leaf-margin  is  said  to  be  ser- 
rate, crenate,  dentate. 

In  the  lobed  variety  of  leaf,  the  upper  portion  of  the  lamina 
of  each  leaflet  is  fully  formed,  and  the  number  of  forming 
leaflets,  as  well  as  the  extent  to  which  their  formation  has  been 
carried,  is  expressed  botanically  by  the  terms  bilobed,  tri- 
lobed,  quinque-lobed,  etc.;  the  words  bipartite,  tripartite, 
and  quinque-partite  are  expressive  of  a  still  higher  degree 
of  development,  and  indicative  of  the  formation  of  the  greater 
portion  of  the  lamina  of  the  leaflets,  and  that  their  detach- 
ment from  each  other  has  been  nearly  carried  down  to  their 
main  petiole  or  support. 

If  the  reader  compares  the  leaf  of  the  False  sycamore  (Acer 
pseudo'plalanus),  Plate  IY.,  Fig.  3,  with  that  of  the  Castor-oil 
plant  (Ricinus  communis),  Fig.  4,  he  will  see  that  the  transition 
from  the  one  form  of  leaf  to  the  other  has  been  brought  about 
by  the  partial  development  of  the  lamina  of  an  additional  leaf- 
let, and  that  the  extra  lobe  thus  formed  fills  up  that  sinus  or 
opening  which  is  left  between  the  two  lower  lobes  of  the 
Sycamore  leaf,  and  thus  produces  in  the  Castor-oil  leaf  the 
palmately  lobed  variety.  The  terms  palmately- cleft  and 
palmately-parted,  point  out  a  still  further  formation  of  the 
lamina  of  the  leaflets,  whose  several  bases  nevertheless  still 
remain  in  a  state  of  coalescence. 

But  in  the  digitate  leaf  of  the  Horse  Chestnut  (CEsculus 


FROM   SIMPLE   LEAVES. 


117 


118  DEVELOPMENT  OF  COMPOUND 

hippocastanum).  Fig.  5,  the  separation  of  the  leaflets  has  been 
carried  down  to  the  summit  of  the  maiii  petiole  or  support, 
for  each  leaflet  is  fully  formed  and  therefore  distinct  from  the 
leaflets  on  either  side.  The  attention  of  the  reader  is  called 
to  the  correspondence  which  subsists  between  the  coalescing 
leaflets  of  the  Castor-oil  leaf  and  the  free  leaflets  of  the  Horse 
Chestnut  leaf,  in  size  and  in  direction.  It  is  evident  that  the 
general  plan  of  structure  is  much  the  same  in  both,  with  this 
difference,  that  in  the  Castor-oil  the  leaflets,  being  only  par- 
tially developed,  still  continue  to  coalesce  with  each  other, 
whilst  in  the  Horse  Chestnut  each  leaflet  is  fully  formed,  and 
therefore  separate  and  free. 

The  passage  of  the  digitate  into  the  pinnate  forms  of  com- 
pound leaf,  is  simply  effected  by  the  formation  of  a  naked 
portion  of  stem  between  each  pair  of  leaflets.  Compare,  in 
this  respect,  the  leaf  of  the  Horse  Chestnut  with  that  of  the 
White-Heart  Hickory  (Carya  tomentosa),  Fig.  6.  There  is 
precisely  the  same  correspondence  subsisting  between  the 
leaflets  of  this  digitate  and  pinnate  variety  of  compound  leaf, 
in  size  and  in  direction,  as  in  the  former  case.  We  are  justi- 
fied therefore  in  regarding  the  pinnate  leaf  as  differing  from 
the  leaf  that  is  digitate,  only  in  the  formation  of  those  little 
intervals  of  midrib  which  separate  its  several  pairs  of  leaflets ; 
for  if  we  suppose  them  to  become  rudimentary,  then  these 
leaflets  become  crowded  together  at  the  top  of  a  common 
petiole,  and  the  pinnate  at  once  passes  into  the  digitate  form, 
from  which  it  can  no  longer  be  distinguished. 

The  transition  of  the  pinnate  into  the  bipinnate  form  is  a 
fact  which  has  been  long  known  to  the  world.  This  is  well 
seen  in  the  leaves  of  the  common  Locust-tree  (RoUnia  pseuda- 
cacia),  Fig.  7,  where,  through  the  increased  development  of 
the  costa,  a,  and  its  lateral  fibres,  b,  the  new  costae,  c,  and  a 
second  set  of  leaflets,  d,  is  produced.  This  second  set  of 
leaflets  may  in  like  manner  produce  another  set,  which  is  the 
case  in  the  tripinnate  variety  of  compound  leaf;  but  here  the 
vegetative  power  reaches  its  limit,  for  it  is  seldom,  that  the 
division  goes  beyond  the  third  degree,  although  tripinnate 
leaves  with  their  leaflets  pinnatified  are  not  uncommon. 


FKOM  SIMPLE  LEAVES.  119 

But  the  most  instructive  foliage  is  that  of  the  Honey-Locust 
(Gleditchia  triacanthos),  Fig.  8.  Among  the  highly  cpmpound 
leaves  of  this  plant,  the  intermediate  transitional  forms  be- 
tween a  pinnate,  bipinnate,  and  tripinnate  division  of  the 
lamina  may  be  readily  found.  We  have  had  one  of  them 
drawn.  It  will  be  seen,  at  a,  that  one  side  of  the  lamina  of  an 
individual  of  one  of  the  pairs  of  pinnae  has  developed  three 
new  pinnules,  and  that  two  of  them  are  only  partially  formed, 
whilst  the  other  side  of  the  lamina  retains  its  original  appear- 
ance. The  individual  which  is  thus  nearly  half-formed  into 
new  pinnules  differs  hardly  at  all  from  the  new  pairs  of  pinnae 
in  size ;  and  the  reader  will  perceive  at  once  that  these  pin- 
nules are  five  in  number,  and  that  this  exactly  corresponds 
with  the  number  of  pairs  of  pinnules  into  which  the  terminal 
and  lower  pairs  of  pinnae  of  the  leaf  have  been  developed. 
Surely  such  proof  as  this  makes  it  clear  enough,  that  the 
costa  and  side  veins  of  a  leaf  may  so  develop  that  the  former 
shall  become  a  common  axis  or  support  for  the  latter,  which 
shall  constitute  the  midribs  of  new  leaflets. 

Hitherto  we  have  endeavored  to  prove  that  the  irregularities 
along  the  margin  of  leaves,  described  by  the  technical  terms 
serrate,  crenate,  dentate,  etc.,  are  to  be  attributed  to  an  incipi- 
ent effort  at  new  leaflet-formation  by  the  evidence  of  transi- 
tional forms,  a  mode  of  reasoning  which  we  think  Naturalists 
generally  admit  to  be  correct.  But  the  same  position  may 
be  established  by  showing  the  intimate  nature  of  that  connec- 
tion which  subsists  between  the  leaf  and  the  other  organs  of 
the  plant,  that  it  is  only  a .  peculiar  modification  of  the  fibre 
and  parenchyma  of  the  branch  to  which  it  is  attached,  and 
governed  by  -the  same  general  laws  in  its  developmeDt. 

According  to  Dr.  McCosh,  the  celebrated  author  of  the 
work  entitled,  "  Typical  Forms  and  Special  Ends  in  Creation," 
there  is  a  correspondence  between  "stem  ramification  and 
leaf  ramification"  in  "  the  disposition  and  distribution  of  the 
branches,  and  the  disposition  and  distribution  of  the  leaf 
veins,"  and  also  "  in  the  angle  at  which  the  branch  goes  off" 
from  the  stem,  "  and  that  at  which  the  lateral  veins  go  off" 
from  the  costa  or  midrib  of  the  leaf.  If  this  theory  be  true, 


120  DEVELOPMENT   OF   COMPOUND 

then  the  same  general  laws  which  govern  the  development 
of  the  branch  and  its  ramifications  give  form  to  its  leaves, 
which  exhibit  in  their  midrib  and  its  ramifications  through 
the  parenchyma  of  the  blade,  a  miniature  copy  of  the  branch 
itself 

^c  is  undeniable  chat  this  theory  of  Dr.  McCosh  has  been 
received  with  coldness  and  distrust  by  scientific  men,  although 
Professor  Balfour,  of  Edinburg,  has  very  properly  given  it  a 
notice  in  his  "  Class  Book  of  Botany,"  but  without  commit- 
ting himself  as  to  its  general  soundness.  In  science  it  is  not 
permitted  to  yield  to  imagination.  If  we  would  give  currency 
to  new  truths,  and  obtain  their  endorsement  as  such  by  men 
filling  a  high  and  responsible  public  position,  it  must  be  seen 
that  we  have  been  guided  solely  by  well-known  and  estab- 
lished facts  in  their  development.  There  must  be  a  stern 
determination  to  give  a  true  and  faithful  portraiture  of  Nature 
and  her  operations,  which,  the  more  they  are  studied,  the 
more  they  delight  us  by  their  grandeur  and  simplicity. 

But  do  we  interpret  Nature  correctly  when  we  say  that 
the  leaf  is  nothing  but  an  expansion  of  the  fibre  and  paren- 
chyma of  the  branch,  that  the  ramifications  of  its  fibrous 
portion  or  skeleton  follow  the  same  general  laws  as  branch 
ramifications,  that  the  leaf  and  branch  are,  in  fact,  homo- 
typal  ? 

Of  course  it  is  understood  that  these  general  laws  of  stem 
or  branch  ramification  are  somewhat  modified  in  the  leaf. 
Thus  in  every  tree  there  is  a  certain  normal  angle  at  which 
branches  are  given  off  from  the  stem,  and  this  angle  varies  in 
different  trees.  For  instance,  in  the  Norway  Spruce  Fir 
(Abies  excelsa)  the  branches  are  drooping  or  pendulous,  in 
the  Hemlock  Spruce  (Abies  Canadensis)  they  grow  out  hori- 
zontally from  the  stem,  and  in  the  Lombardy  Poplar  (Populus 
dilatata)  their  growth  is  almost  vertical.  Moreover,  the  angle 
which  the  branches  make  with  the  stem  varies  even  in  the 
same  individual  tree,  for  it  not  only  increases  with  the  age 
of  the  branch,  but  it  is  greatly  modified  by  the  position  of 
the  branches  and  the  influence  of  surrounding  agents.  As  a 
general  rule,  the  lower  branches  of  a  tree  grow  more  horizon- 


FROM   SIMPLE   LEAVES.  121 

tally  than  those  situated  toward  its  top.  All  branches  natu- 
rally tend  to  the  light,  and  the  inferior  branches  necessarily 
take  this  direction  on  account  of  the  overshadowed  position 
which  they  occupy.  If  the  reader  looks  at  the  beech  branch 
figured  on  page  33,  he  will  see  that  the  upper  twigs  or  branch- 
lets  develop  from  the  main  axis  of  the  branch  at  an  acuter 
angle  than  the  lower  twigs ;  and  let  him  at  the  same  time  bear 
in  mind  the  fact,  that  the  branch  repeats,  on  a  smaller  scale, 
the  type  of  the  tree  itself. 

If  we  regard  the  costa  or  midrib  of  the  leaf  as  correspond- 
ing to  the  stem  or  principal  axis  of  ramification  of  the  tree, 
then  the  first  and  most  prominent  sets  of  fibrous  fasciculi, 
which  separate  themselves  from  the  midrib  or  principal 
fasciculus  of  the  lamina  or  blade  of  the  leaf,  will  correspond 
to  the  strongest  and  largest  side-branches  of  the  tree ;  and  it 
is  obvious  that  in  both  instances  the  general  figure  or  outline 
of  both  tree  and  leaf  is  determined  by  them.  But  whilst  in 
a  tree  the  angular  inclination  of  the  branches  to  the  stem 
varies,  in  a  leaf  whose  lamina  or  blade  is  not  formed  into 
distinct  leaflets  there  is  no  such  variation  of  the  angular  incli- 
nation of  the  principal  veins  to  the  costa  or  midrib,  because 
the  veinlets  which  would  seem  to  correspond  to  the  branchlets 
of  the  branch  coalesce  among  themselves.  Therefore  there 
can  be  no  change  in  the  angle  formed  by  the  principal  leaf- 
veins  and  costaB,  at  any  epoch  in  the  development  of  the  leaf, 
in  such  cases  of  leaf-organization,  whatever  correspondence 
there  may  be  in  other  respects  between  their  angular  direc- 
tion and  that  of  the  leading  branches  of  the  tree. 

In  compound  leaves,  however,  which  make  a  much  nearer  ap- 
proach to  the  organization  of  the  branch  in  their  structure, 
where  the  lamina  of  the  principal  leaf  is  developed  into  one  or 
more  generations  of  leaflets,  light  causes  the  angular  inclinations 
of  these  leaflets  or  foliaceous  branchlets  to  vary  slowly  and  con- 
tinuously at  different  periods  of  the  day,  with  reference  to  the 
midrib  of  the  leaf,  just  as  the  same  agent,  acting  for  years  on 
the  main  branches  of  a  tree,  changes  their  original  angular  in- 
clination with  reference  to  the  tree  stem.  Thus  the  leaves  of 
the  American  Senna  (Cassia  Marilandica)  and  of  the  Honey- 


122  DEVELOPMENT   OF   COMPOUND 

Locust  (Gleditschia  triacanthos)  hang  down  with  the  coming 
of  the  evening  shades,  and  continue  drooping  through  the 
night ;  but  as  soon  as 

"  Night's  candles  have  burned  out,  and  jocund  day 
Stands  tiptoe  on  the  misty  mountain's  top," 

they  gradually  elevate  themselves  to  their  usual  horizontal 
position. 

Another  obvious  distinction  between  stem  ramification  and 
leaf  ramification,  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  branches  and  branch- 
lets  of  a  tree  are  all  radially  arranged  or  grow  concentrically 
about  its  stem,  whilst  the  veins  and  veinlets  of  a  leaf  take 
a  symmetrical,  bilateral  arrangement  on  either  side  of  its 
costae  or  midrib,  and  develop  in  the  same  plane,  or,  more 
correctly  speaking,  in  a  secies  of  closely  approximated 
planes. 

But  in  trees  of  a  low  order  of  organization,  such  as  the 
Coniferse,  or  cone-bearing  family,  to  which  the  Pine,  Fir,  and 
Larch  belong,  the  main  stem  is  well-defined,  and  the  branches, 
although  disposed  about  it  concentrically,  are  nevertheless 
arranged  symmetrically.  The  branches  of  the  Pine  and  Fir, 
for  example,  grow  from  their  main  trunk  in  verticils  or 
whorls,  because  they  develop  from  the  axils  of  closely-suc- 
ceeding, spirally-arranged  leaves,  situated  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood  of  the  terminal  bud,  from  which  the  main 
trunk  proceeds  each  season.  In  consequence  of  the  urging 
of  the  formative  power  toward  the  top  of  each  year's  growth 
of  the  leading  axis,  all  its  inferior  lateral  buds  are  suppressed, 
and  whorls  of  branches  are  produced  with  naked  intervals  of 
stem  between  them.  Now,  if  we  imagine  a  vertical  plane  to 
descend  through  the  main  axis  or  stem  of  one  of  these  trees, 
we  will  suppose  it  to  be  the  Norway  Spruce  (Abies  excelsd), 
so  as  to  divide  the  tree  exactly  from  top  to  bottom,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  this  tree,  like  the  body  of  man  or  of  an  animal, 
would  be  divided  into  two  perfectly  symmetrical  halves, 
which  joined  together  would  make  one  complete  symmetrical 
whole. 

In  addition  to  this,  the  branchlets  which  proceed  from  the 


FROM  SIMPLE   LEAVES.  123 

branches  thus  concentrically  disposed  about  the  main  trunk 
are  arranged  not  only  symmetrically  but  bilaterally,  the  two 
sides  of  each  branch,  like  those  of  the  leaf,  being  counterparts 
of  each  other.  This  remark  applies  to  branches  with  droop- 
ing branchlets,  as  well  as  to  those  which  spread  out  horizon- 
tally from  the  sides  of  the  branch.  For  the  leaves  which  are 
arranged  concentrically  about  the  trunk  assume  a  bilateral 
distribution  on  the  branches  in  proportion  to  the  increase  in 
the  amount  of  their  horizontal  development ;  and  in  the  lowest 
branches,  whose  growth  is  most  horizontal,  the  leaves  drop 
from  the  under  surface,  or  such  as  remain  there  curve  round 
to  the  sides  of  the  branch  for  light,  so  that  they  are  mainly  con- 
fined to  its  upper  surface  and  two  sides.  Now  it  is  plain 
enough  that  the  axilla3  of  the  leaves  situated  on  the  upper 
side  of  the  branches  would  be  bad  starting  points  for  grow- 
ing shoots ;  and  for  this  reason  the  upper  side  leaves  remain 
sterile.  Therefore  this  bilateral  arrangement  of  the  branch- 
lets  or  side-growths  of  the  branches,  is  the  natural  result  of 
their  horizontal  growth  and  their  overshadowed  position,  for 
branches  always  develop  their  branchlets  in  those  directions 
where  there  is  the  most  space  and  light. 

Again,  in  the  Beech,  Linden,  Hazel,  Elm,  and  Hornbeam, 
this  bilateral  symmetry  of  the  branches  holds  not  only  for 
the  ramifications  of  the  secondary  axis  but  for  the  whole 
tree  during  the  first  years  of  its  life.  For  these  branches 
proceed  from  buds  which  are  developed  by  alternate,  dis- 
tichous, or  two-ranked  leaves;  hence,  in  the  Spring  of  the 
second  year  they  will  necessarily  lie  in  one  plane,  like  the 
beard  of  a  feather.  This  is  well  seen  in  the  second  year's 
growth  of  the  Linden  (Tilia  Americana)',  but  in  the  Beech 
this  branch  symmetry  is  preserved  still  longer,  even  until  the 
tree  has  attained  a  considerable  height  above  the  ground. 
Nevertheless,  as  the  tree  continues  to  grow,  it  is  subjected  on 
all  sides  to  the  influence  of  surrounding  agents,  especially 
light,  and  the  result  is  that  the  branches  depart  from  their 
original  symmetrical  position,  and  tend  to  arrange  them- 
selves concentrically  so  as  to  receive  the  greatest  amount  of  its 
influence. 


124  DEVELOPMENT   OF   COMPOUND 

The  symmetrical  bilateral  arrangement  of  the  branches 
therefore  disappears  as  the  tree  gets  older,  and  it  is  still 
further  concealed  by  the  tendency  of  the  concentric  growth 
of  the  whole  tree  to  repeat  itself  in  the  leading  branches. 
This  tendency  very  frequently  manifests  itself.  Cases  where 
two  or  more  similarly-formed  stems  spring  from  the  same 
common  stock,  whose  branches  are  all  concentrically  disposed, 
are  quite  common  in  the  woods.  In  fact,  whenever  a  Beech- 
tree  (Fo.gus  ferruginea)  is  old  and  well- developed,  two  prin- 
cipal forms  or  prototypes  may  be  distinguished  within  the 
crown.  The  one,  the  form  of  the  tree  itself,  only  less  devel- 
oped, in  the  concentric  growth  of  the  leading  branches  into 
which  its  smooth,  silvery-gray  yet  massive  stem  divides ;  the 
other,  the  form  of  the  leaf:  for  the  fibrous  portion  or  skeleton 
of  that  organ,  only  greatly  enlarged  and  developed,  has  its 
counterpart  in  the  symmetrical,  flattened,  spread-out,  but  less 
powerful  branches  of  the  tree. 

These  facts  would  seem  to  indicate  that  the  leaf,  whose 
existence  and  development  in  relation  to  the  axis  is  entirely 
secondary  and  subordinate,  is  in  reality  the  prototype  accord- 
ing to  which  the  tree  itself  is  constructed,  which  type  repeats 
itself  in  each  individual  branch — that  is  to  say,  each  branch 
represents,  prefigures,  and  copies  it. 

The  leaf  may  therefore  "be  regarded  as  nothing  but  a  pecu- 
liar modification  of  the  fibre  and  parenchyma  of  the  branch 
which  it  is  engaged  in  constructing ;  and  the  fibre  ramifies 
through  its  parenchyma  as  the  branch  ramifies  through  the 
atmosphere — the  same  general  laws  being  followed  in  the 
distribution  of  the  veins  and  veinlets. 

This  truth  will  be  more  apparent  if  we  consider  the  scheme 
of  a  system  of  shoots  or  of  branch  ramifications,  and  the  law 
of  their  development  and  association.  In  the  first  place,  the 
primary  axis  of  such  a  system  preponderates  in  length  over 
the  first  generation  of  side  axes ;  and  there  is  also  a  propor- 
tionate decrease,  not  only  in  the  length  of  the  side  axes,  but 
also  in  the  number  of  vitally-active  buds  which  they  produce, 
and  consequently  in  the  extent  to  which  their  ramifications 
are  carried.  The  vegetative  power  of  the  branch  in  fact 


FKOM  SIMPLE  LEAVES.  125 

diminishes  with,  each  succeeding  generation  of  shoots,  until 
at  length  it  approaches  its  limit  in  buds,  which  unfold  year 
after  year  into  mere  clusters  of  leaves.  The  bud  traces  on 
such  shoots  follow  each  other  in  close  order,  the  leaf  scars 
are  reduced  in  size,  and  finally  the  terminal  bud  becomes 
abortive,  and  all  further  growth  in  that  direction  is  necessarily 
arrested.  There  is  also  a  well-marked  remission  of  growth 
in  the  direction  of  the  main  axis  of  the  branch.  For  after  a 
certain  point  of  time  in  the  development  of  the  main  axis,  the 
growth  it  makes  each  year  becomes  less  and  less ;  and  this  is 
accompanied  by  a  loss  of  ramifying  power  in  the  families  of 
shoots  which  it  developes  laterally,  so  that  there  is  an  exact 
correspondence  subsisting  between  the  loss  of  vegetative 
power  in  the  branches  of  the  upper  region  of  the  principal 
axis,  and  in  the  second  and  third  generation  of  shoots  devel- 
oped by  the  branches  of  its  lower  region. 

The  same  laws  of  remission  of  growth  from  one  generation 
to  another  manifest  themselves  in  the  structure  of  herbaceous 
plants,  which  branch  or  repeat  themselves  in  the  axilla  of  their 
leaves,  one,  two,  or  even  three  generations  of  branches  being 
developed  during  the  same  season.  If  this  process  of  ramifi- 
cation is  examined  in  the  common  St.  John's  Wort  (Hypericum 
perforatum),  or  any  other  branching  herbaceous  plant,  it  will 
be  evident  that  these  successive  side-productions  are  only 
repetitions  of  the  whole  plant  on  a  constantly  diminishing 
scale  of  magnitude,  and  that  there  is  a  beautiful  symmetry 
apparent  throughout  the  whole  of  them.  For  the  branches 
given  off  from  the  axilla  of  the  opposite  pairs  of  leaves  which 
clothe  the  stem  of  the  primary  axis,  not  only  meet  the  axis 
at  the  same  angle,  but  the  lower  branches  are  less  developed 
than  the  upper  branches,  whose  leaves  are  carried  forward  to 
the  highest  stage  of  vegetative  metamorphoses  and  terminate 
in  flowers.  Hence  there  is  only  one  generation  of  branches 
developed  from  the  axilla3  of  the  lower  leaves  of  the  primary 
axis,  whilst  the  leaves  situated  toward  its  summit  develop  two 
generations ;  and  as  each  branch  terminates  in  a  flower,  its 
growth  necessarily  ceases.  Herbaceous  plants  therefore  follow 
precisely  the  same  laws  of  ramification  as  the  trees  which 


126  DEVELOPMENT   OF   COMPOUND 

overshadow  them.  They  differ,  however,  in  one  particular. 
The  first  and  subsequent  generations  of  side  shoots  in  trees 
are  formed  in  embryo  the  first  year,  enveloped  beneath  the 
covering  leaves  of  a  winter's  bud  through  the  cold  season, 
and  develop  as  shoots  the  second  year ;  but  herbaceous  plants 
are  without  these  covering  leaves.  They  need  them  not, 
because  they  develop  all  their  branches  in  one  season.  This 
activity  of  the  ramifying  process  the  first  season  undoubtedly 
must  tend  to  exhaust  the  vegetative  powers  of  the  herbaceous 
axis,  so  that  the  period  of  puberty  arrives  in  a  few  weeks  or 
months,  and  the  plant  flowers,  forms  its  seed,  and  thus 
rapidly  passes  through  the  same  cycle  of  life-changes  which, 
in  trees,  it  takes  centuries  to  perfect  and  fulfill. 

We  are  now  fairly  in  a  position  to  show  that  leaf  ramifica- 
tion is  governed  by  the  same  general  laws  as  stem  ramification. 
Assuming  that  the  midrib  and  petiole  of  the  leaf,  when  it 
possesses  one,  corresponds  to  the  leading  or  primary  axis  of 
the  branch,  then  the  first  and  most  prominent  sets  of  fibrous 
fasciculi  which  separate  themselves  from  the  midrib  will  also 
correspond  with  the  powerful  side  axes  of  the  first  order  in 
the  branch ;  and  where  the  fibrous  portion  of  the  leaf  takes 
a  high  degree  'of  development,  as  is  the  case  in  compound 
leaves,  there  is  in  the  leaf  precisely  the  same  tendency  to  a 
repetition  of  itself,  on  a  smaller  scale  of  architecture,  as  there 
is  in  the  branch,  and  one  or  more  generations  of  leaflets  will 
be  formed,  whose  fibrous  ramifications,  like  those  of  successive 
generations  of  branchlets,  are  more  and  more  retarded,  until 
finally  the  vegetative  powers  of  both  leaf  and  branch  are 
reduced  to  zero. 

Again,  the  stem  and  branches  of  the  tree  are  all  conically 
constructed,  tapering  toward  their  extremities.  In  like  man- 
ner, the  bundles  of  fibre  which  ramify  through  the  green  bark 
or  parenchyma  of  leaves  are  equally  tapering.  The  midrib 
or  main  fasciculus  of  fibres  decreases  in  diameter  from  the 
base  to  the  apex  of  the  leaf,  as  the  enveloping  layers  of  fibre 
separate  from  each  other.  In  such  leaves  as  those  of  the 
Chestnut,  all  further  ramification  is  at  once  stopped  by  the 
anastomosis  of  the  fibres  amongst  themselves,  the  parenchy 


FROM   SIMPLE    LEAVES.  ,      127 

matous  areola  or  interspaces  between  the  fibres  becoming 
continually  smaller  as  they  approach  their  ultimate  ramifica- 
tions ;  but  where  development  is  carried  further,  as  in  pinnate 
and  bipinnate  forms,  there  is  the  same  conical  and  attenuated 
fibrous  structure,  and  the  same  ultimate  anastomosis  of  the 
fibre  when  the  developmental  power  of  the  leaflet  has  reached 
its  limit,  just  as  in  the  simple  leaf  with  the  entire  edge,  where 
the  vegetative  power  of  the  fibre  of  the  leaf  is  reduced  to  a 
minimum,  and  the  fibres,  by  consequence,  anastomose  among 
themselves  before  they  come  to  the  margin  of  the  leaf. 

The  same  laws  of  lateral  or  marginal  leaf  development 
manifest  themselves  amongst  leaves  even  when  they  are  still 
in  a  state  of  anastomosis,  or  only  partially  formed  and  sepa- 
rated from  each  other.  One,  two,  or  even  three  generations 
of  partially-formed  folioles  may  develop  and  remain  associated 
with  each  other,  producing  the  bipinnated  or  tripinnated 
forms,  as  is  the  case  in  the  leaves  of  Ambrosia  artemisicefolia, 
or  Koman  Wormwood.  And  just  as  the  branch  is  only  the 
tree  itself  on  a  smaller  scale,  representing  a  certain  stage  of 
development  through  which  the  tree  has  already  passed,  and, 
if  severed  from  the  stem  and  planted  in  the  soil,  would  repre- 
sent its  exact  condition  during  one  period  of  its  life,  so  a 
careful  comparison  of  the  entire  foliole  with  its  collaterals, 
proves  that  these  collaterals  are  only  incipient  repetitions  of 
the  entire  foliole,  and  that  they  hold  to  it  the  same  relation- 
ship as  the  branchlets  owe  to  the  parent  branch,  and  follow 
the  same  law  of  retarded  development — and  which  is  alike 
visible  in  the  rugged  and  gigantic  branches  of  the  lofty  tree 
which  endures  for  centuries,  despite  the  fiercest  onsets  of  the 
elements,  and  in  the  delicate  fibrous  ramifications  of  the  leaf, 
which  a  single  night's  frost  can  kill.  Such  is  the  grandeur 
and  simplicity  of  natural  law.  Correctly  interpreted,  we  see 
in  the  fibrous  ramifications  of  the  leaf  a  miniature  or  rather 
model  exemplification  of  those  very  natural  laws  which,  ope- 
rating on  a  more  enlarged  scale,  build  up  the  powerful 
branches  of  the  tree,  with  their  innumerable  branchlets. 

The  accuracy  of  this  reasoning  will  be  rendered  clear  and 
intelligible  by  Fig.  9,  which  represents  a  leaf  of  Kolreuteria 


128  DEVELOPMENT  OF  COMPOUND 

paniculata,  a  beautiful  Chinese  shrub,  cultivated  in  sheltered 
situations,  for  the  sake  of  its  elegant  leaves  and  panicles  of 
yellow  flowers.   In  the  leaves  of  this  plant,  the  different  stages 
in  the  process  of  new  leaflet-formation  may  be  traced  at  a 
glance.     There  is  apparent  that  retarded  development  of  the 
leaf  ramifications  in  the  first,  second,  and  third  generations  of 
forming  leaflets  (Figs.  1,  2,  3),  which  spring  from  the  primary 
axis  or  costa3  of  the  leaf;  it  will  also  be  perceived  that  the  out- 
line figure  of  the  side  leaflets  corresponds  to  that  of  the  primary 
or  parent  leaf,  from  which  they  differ  only  in  size,  being  only 
a  repetition  of  the  parent  leaf  on  a  smaller  scale.     Thus  the 
lateral  fibres  given  off  from  the  primary  costa  or  main  folia- 
ceous  axis  of  the  leaf,  gradually  decrease  in  size  from  the 
middle  to  the  apex  and  base  of  the  leaf;  it  is  the  same  with 
the  fibrous  bundles  given  off  from  the  secondary  costae :  these 
are  the  most  developed  toward  the  middle  of  each  leaflet ; 
hence,  toward  their  summits,  the  leaflets  of  the  second  genera- 
tion are  still  in  a  state  of  anastomosis,  or  only  partially  formed. 
The  lowest  leaflets  of  this  generation  are  the  most  completely 
developed ;  but  they  are  sessile,  their  petiole  is  rudimentary, 
and  the  vegetative  power  is  so  enfeebled  in  the  upper  leaflets, 
that  the  parenchyma  is  increasingly  decurrent  along  the  line 
of  the  costae.     These  lower  lateral  leaflets  are  therefore  clearly 
only  the  secondary  leaflets  arrested  at  a  still  lower  stage  of 
their  development.     If  we  examine  them  carefully,  we  shall 
find  that  the  lateral  fibres  proceeding  from  their  costse  or 
midribs  produce  the  sharp  incisions  of  their  margin.     These 
sharp  points  are  therefore  the  tops  of  the  new  leaflets  of  the 
third  generation,  and  by  consequence  the  last  expiring  efforts 
at  new  leaflet-formation.     The  marginal  development  of  new 
leaflets,  like  the  lateral  development  of  new  branchlets,  is 
here  reduced  to  a  minimum,  being  arrested  in  its  first  stages. 
There  is  a  Comparative  Anatomy  of  Plants  as  well  as  of 
Animals,  which  has  yet  been  only  indifferently  studied.   More 
careful  researches  are  necessary  in  this  interesting  field.     The 
gradual  simplification  of  leaf-structure  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  flower,  the  result  of  a  loss  of  vegetative  energy  in  the 
leaf,  and  the  antagonism  of  reproduction,  is  a  fact  in  Vegetable 


FROM  SIMPLE  LEAVES. 


129 


9 


130  FROM  SIMPLE   LEAVES, 

Morphology  which  has  never  yet  been  traced  out  to  its  legiti- 
mate consequences.  It  has  an  important  bearing  on  our 
knowledge  of  leaf  forms.  It  connects  them  with  each  other, 
through  all  their  polymorphous  varieties,  in  bonds  which  are 
indissoluble.  An  attempt  has  been  made  in  this  Chapter  to 
take  the  first  steps  in  these  researches.  The  writer  claims  no 
credit  beyond  the  exercise  of  that  more  than  ordinary  patience 
and  care,  so  necessary  to  successful  explorations  in  a  new 
field.  May  the  truths  enunciated,  however  imperfectly  estab- 
lished, give  a  new  impulse  to  botanical  inquiries.  Between 
the  simple  leaf  with  the  entire  edge,  and  the  most  highly 
compound  leaf,  there  .is"  every  intermediate  variety  of  transi- 
tional forms.  The  important  law  of  leaf  simplification  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  flower,  like  the  clue  of  Ariadne,  will 
guide  us  through  this  Cretan  labyrinth,  and  show  the  sim- 
plicity, and,  at  the  same  time,  the  variety  of  Nature.  It  is 
only  necessary  for  the  above  law  to  be  fully  apppreciated  in 
all  its  bearings,  and  one  of  the  driest  and  most  technical 
portions  of  Botanical  science  will  be  rendered  deeply  inter- 
esting and  instructive. 

In  closing  this  Chapter,  it  seems  to  me  to  be  proper  to  tell 
the  reader,  that  the  opinions  which  it  Contains  are  conclusions 
which  I  have  felt  to  be  absolutely  unavoidable.  They  are 
certainly  novelties  in  the  science  of  Botany,  the  boundaries 
of  which  are  very  susceptible  of  enlargement,  if  a  greater 
amount  of  self-reliance  is  exercised,  patience  is  cultivated, 
and  Nature  is  studied.  These  new  truths  are  so  interesting, 
that  even  if  there  should  be  only  a  minimum  of  scientific  and 
literary  merit  about  this  Chapter,  I  have  no  doubt  that  the 
attention  of  Botanists  will  be  attracted  to  the  subject.  I  only 
hope  that  this  may  be  so.  I  have  written,  I  trust,  guardedly 
and  earnestly. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

A  SKETCH  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  CREATION  AS  RECORDED 
IN  THE  STRATA  OF  THE  EARTH,  SHOWING  THAT  THE 
TREES  WHICH  NOW  COVER  ITS  SURFACE  WERE  NOT  ALL 
CREATED  AT  THE  SAME  TIME,  BUT  WERE  INTRODUCED  AS 
THE  EARTH  BECAME  FITTED  FOR  THEIR  RECEPTION — TREES 
WERE  CREATED  IN  SUCCESSION — THOSE  OF  A  LOW  TYPE 
OF  ORGANIZATION  ARE  THE  MOST  ANCIENT  INHABITANTS 
OF  THE  GLOBE — THE  MORE  HIGHLY  ORGANIZED  TREES 
HAVE  BEEN  INTRODUCED  AT  A  COMPARATIVELY  SPEAKING 
MODERN  GEOLOGICAL  EPOCH. 

JUST  as  a  tree  contains  in  the  woody  layers  of  its  stem  a 
record  of  its  progressive  life-history  through  the  past  years 
of  its  existence,  so  with  the  organism  of  the  earth.  We  have 
recorded,  in  its  strata,  a  faithful  account  of  the  progress  of 
Creation,  a  history  of  those  physical  and  organic  changes 
which  the  earth  has  undergone,  with  this  difference,  that  the 
time  expended  in  producing  them  is  to  be  estimated  not  by 
years,  but  by  myriads  of  ages,  periods  of  duration  all  but 
infinite  —  fragments  of  eternity.  The  History  of  Creation 
has,  in  fact,  been  written  in  the  rocks,  which  may  be  regarded 
as  so  many  separate  volumes  laid  up  in  the  library  of  Nature. 
To  interpret  correctly  the  language  in  which  this  history  is 
written,  requires  the  highest  attainments  in  Natural  History 
and  Physics.  It  has  up  to  the  present  time  been  only  par- 
tially interpreted.  The  following  facts  have,  however,  been 
fully  elicited. 

All  the  elements  which  enter  into  the  composition  of  the 
solid  and  fluid  parts  of  the  earth  once  existed  uncombined, 
and  in  the  gaseous  form.  The  earth  was,  during  this  epoch, 
an  immense  sphere  of  gaseous  matter.  In  the  course  of  vast 

(131) 


132  EELATIVE   GEOLOGICAL   ANTIQUITY   OF  TREES. 

periods  of  time,  the  attractive  forces  gradually  predominated 
over  the  repulsive,  the  nebulous  matter  condensed  about  a 
common  centre,  evolved  heat  and  light,  and  the  earth  became 
a  radiant  star  or  self-luminous  body.  Another  cycle  of  ages 
elapsed,  during  which  there  was  a  continual  loss  of  heat  from 
the  surface  by  free  radiation  into  the  stellar  spaces ;  and  that 
surface  was  ultimately  cooled  down  to  the  solid  crust  which 
now  envelopes  the  fiery  nucleus.  The  earth  is  therefore  an 
opaque  or  dark  body ;  and  if  these  views  be  correct,  it  is  an 
extinguished  star. 

About  the  time  that  the  solid  mantle  of  rock  was  formed 
through  the  cooling  of  the  earth's  crust,  the  air  and  water 
were  probably  separated,  the  atmosphere  was  charged  with 
carbonic  acid,  and  the  clouds  burst  in  violent  showers  of  rain, 
originating  a  hot  salt  sea.  The  rind  continued  to  grow  thicker 
as  the  cooling  process  went  on.  In  the  meanwhile,  it  became 
necessarily  fissured  or  cracked  in  many  places,  and  an  uneven 
surface  thus  originated,  with  elevations  and  depressions  and 
openings,  through  which  poured  itself  a  part  of  the  fiery 
contents  of  the  earth's  nucleus.  The  earth  during  this  period 
was  covered  with  an  immense  number  of  volcanoes,  which 
were  constantly  engaged  in  throwing  up  showers  of  ashes, 
incandescent  rocks  and  melted  lava,  thus  increasing  the  in- 
equalities of  the  surface,  and  forming,  in  connection  with  the 
operation  of  the  boiling  waters  of  these  ancient  seas,  the 
laminated  or  slaty  rocks  known  to  Geologists  as  gneiss,  mica- 
slate,  and  talcose-slate.  Their  formation  closed  the  first  great 
geological  period,  the  Azoic  period. 

Sublime  and  terrible  must  have  been  the  scenery  during 
this  epoch ;  innumerable  active  volcanoes  incessantly  thunder- 
ing, and  illuminating  the  darkened  heavens  with  their  raging 
fires.  In  such  a  condition  of  things,  it  was  impossible  that 
organic  bodies,  animals  and  plants,  should  exist,  and  accord- 
ingly we  find  no  traces  of  them  in  these  ancient  rocks. 

In  order  for  living  beings  to  diffuse  themselves  over  the 
earth,  the  temperature  must  be  lessened,  and  an  earthy  soil 
must  be  created,  on  which  plants  can  grow,  and  through  them 
animals  be  nourished.  Plants  live  on  inorganic  matter,  on 


RELATIVE   GEOLOGICAL   ANTIQUITY   OF  TEEES.  133 

water,  carbonic  acid,  ammonia,  and  certain  salts ;  animals,  on 
the  contrary,  require  plants  and  other  animals  for  their  ex- 
istence. Such  a  soil  forms  itself  only  in  the  course  of  ages, 
out  of  the  underlying  rocks.  Through  the  chemical  influence 
of  the  air,  and  the  solvent  and  mechanical  power  of  the  rains, 
the  rocky  surface  was  gradually  broken  up,  and  the  loose 
material  was  either  left  lying  on  the  surface,  or,  driven  along 
by  torrents  of  water,  was  deposited  in  other  places  at  a  dist- 
ance. Kocks  composed  of  matter  which  has  thus  been  de- 
posited from  water  are  called  sedimentary  rocks,  and  we  find 
first  in  the  most  ancient  of  these  rocks  the  remains  of  plants 
and  animals,  the  so-called  fossils. 

The  time  occupied  in  the  formation  of  these  ancient  deposits 
is  called  for  this  reason  by  Geologists  the  Palaeozoic  period, 
because  they  contain  the  first  germs  of  higher  organic  forms, 
and  are  the  repository  of  its  most  ancient  life.  The  Cambrian, 
Silurian,  and  Devonian  formations  are  the  oldest  historical 
rocks,  and  the  fossils  which  they  contain  prove  that  the  earth 
was  at  this  time  no  Eden,  but,  on  the  contrary,  a  monstrous 
muddy  swamp.  Water  appears  to  have  predominated  over 
the  land.  Among  animals  the  fish  held  the  highest  rank. 
There  was  an  abundance  of  shell-fish  and  corals,  and  a  crusta- 
ceous  swimming  animal  called  a  trilobite.  The  air  contained 
a  great  amount  of  carbonic  acid  gas. 

The  plants  belong  to  the  Cryptogamous  or  flowerless  divi- 
sion, and  are  decidedly  low  in  organization.  They  consist  of 
gigantic  calamites,  plants  allied  to  the  horsetail  (Equisetum\ 
ferns,  and  arborescent  club-mosses  (Lycopodium),  called  Lepi- 
dodendra — in  fact,  such  plants  as  are  found  now  in  swamps, 
and  whose  size  is  at  present  very  diminutive.  AD  al- 
most endless  ocean  yet  covered  the  earth's  surface.  Only 
here  and  there  an  island  was  visible,  rugged  and  torn,  and 
which  the  first  offspring  of  the  young  creation  covered.  Land 
was,  indeed,  created,  and  the  waves  of  these  ancient  seas  broke 
against  the  rocks  as  now,  and  plowed  out  for  themselves  gulfs 
and  bays.  In  the  interior  of  the  earth  the  wild  efforts  and 
strength  of  the  fire  had,  in  some  measure,  abated.  The  vol- 
canoes were  less  numerous.  Yet  the  blue  heavens  were  not 


134          KELATIVE   GEOLOGICAL   ANTIQUITY   OF  TREES. 

visible  through  the  cloudy  atmosphere.  Dense  vapors  arose 
from  the  ocean,  and  fell  in  violent  showers  over  the  land, 
returning  back  to  that  reservoir  in  ten  thousand  roaring 
torrents.  This  period  has  been  called  by  Agassiz  the  Age 
of  Fishes.  There  were  neither  reptiles,  birds,  nor  mammals 
then  in  existence. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  Palasozoic  period,  the  earth  appears 
to  have  presented  the  appearance  of  one  vast  archipelago,  or 
collection  of  islands,  and  vegetation  was  developed  on  the 
grandest  scale.  It  was  during  this  epoch  that  the  coal  was 
deposited,  as  only  on  the  coasts  of  tropical  islands  could  such 
plants  grow  as  are  found  fossil  in  the  coal  formation.  The 
vegetable  remains  are  mostly  found,  not  in  the  coal,  but  in 
the  accompanying  clayey  and  sandy  soil  with  which  the  coal 
is  interstratified. 

From  these  remains  it  can  be  proved  that  splendid  forests 
grew  on  the  boggy  soil  of  these  islands.  Here  elevated  itself 
a  tree  fern,  its  summit  penetrating  the  dark  clouds  which 
obscured  the  heavens ;  there,  a  gigantic  lycopodium  or  club 
moss.  Calamites  and  equisetaceas  were  abundant;  and,  in 
addition  to  this,  we  find  traces  of  coniferous  plants,  or  plants 
allied  to  the  Fir  tree,  and  resembling  the  Norfolk  Island  Pine, 
(Araucfiria  excelsa.)  Barren  uniformity,  however,  marked 
the  character  of  these  forests.  Only  seven  hundred  and  fifty 
plants  are  at  present  known  to  Naturalists,  which  were  at  this 
time  diffused  over  the  whole  earth;  whilst  to-day,  in  Europe, 
one  of  the  smallest  dvisions  of  the  earth,  more  than  ten  thou- 
sand species  are  known.  The  earth  at  the  time  of  the  stone- 
coal  formation  was  yet  too  warm  for  the  sun's  rays  to  produce 
any  essential  influence  on  the  climatic  conditions.  The  tem- 
perature was  pretty  much  the  same  all  over  the  earth.  Hence 
the  stone-coal  plants  are  the  same,  although  found  in  coun- 
tries thousands  of  miles  apart.  Even  the  poles  of  the  earth 
were  covered  with  a  tropical  vegetation,  although  now  cooled 
down  so  as  to  be  covered  with  a  mantle  of  everlasting  ice  and 
snow.  This  opinion  has  been  advanced  by  some  Naturalists ; 
but  as  light  is  nessary  to  the  formation  of  plants,  and  as  the 
poles  are  deprived  of  its  influence  during  a  part  of  the 


RELATIVE  GEOLOGICAL  ANTIQUITY  OF  TREES.          135 

year,  this  opinion  must  be  received  with  some  degree  of 
restriction. 

The  animals  of  the  Stone-coal  period  resemble  in  many 
respects  those  of  the  preceding  formations.  The  crustaceans 
have,  however,  improved.  In  addition  to  the  trilobites,  we 
have  the  horse-shoe  crabs,  and  other  gigantic  forms.  We  also 
meet  with  traces  of  insects  and  scorpions.  These  appear  to 
have  been  the  only  inhabitants  of  these  swampy  forests.  No 
mammalia  pastured  beneath  their  shade;  no  birds  warbled 
forth  their  melody,  or  nestled  amongst  the  branches  of  these 
leafless,  flowerless  trees.  Trees  with  true  leaves  and  flowers 
had  not  made  their  appearance.  The  atmosphere  was  not  yet 
fitted  for  their  growth.  With  the  exception  of  the  Fir-trees, 
with  their  needle-shaped  leaves,  the  vegetation  was  wholly 
cryptogamous,  and  decidedly  low  in  organization.  Every 
Botanist  who  examines  the  coal  plants  is  necessarily  impelled 
to  this  conclusion.  There  is  no  denying  the  evidence  of  the 
rocks. 

The  Palaeozoic  rocks,  which  contain  the  fossil  remains  of 
the  first  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  extend  from  the  Cambrian 
formation  as  far  as  the  Magnesian  limestone,  which  lies  above 
the  coal,  and,  together  with  the  Old  Bed  Sandstone,  constitutes 
the  Zechstein  formation  of  the  German  geologists. 

A  careful  examination  of  the  fossil  remains  found  in  these 
rocks,  Toy  the  most  distinguished  Naturalists,  has  developed 
the  interesting  fact,  that  the  first  inhabitants  of  the  world  were 
a  few  sea-weed  zoophytes  and  shell-fish,  and  that,  throughout 
the  whole  of  the  immense  period  of  time  occupied  in  the 
formation  of  these  rocks,  vegetation  did  not  advance  further 
than  the  Coniferas  or  Pine  family,  the  highest  rank  of  the 
animal  creation  being  a  low  order  of  fishes. 

The  period  immediately  succeeding  the  Stone-coal  era  was 
characterized  by  great  volcanic  activity:  the 'rocks  were  up- 
heaved, and  storm  and  annihilation  swept  over  the  island- 
forests  of  the  Stone-coal  landscape,  millions  of  gigantic  trees 
being  buried  beneath  the  raging  floods. 

The  great  amount  of  carbonic  acid  removed  from  the  atmo- 
sphere by  the  luxuriant  vegetation  thus  entombed,  rendered 


136          RELATIVE   GEOLOGICAL   ANTIQUITY   OF   TREES. 

the  air  purer  and  fitted  for  the  respiration  of  a  higher  order 
of  animals.  At  length  appeared  the  first  inhabitant  of  the 
land — a  reptile!  It  is  well  known  to  Naturalists  that  in 
reptiles  and  fishes  the  venous  and  arterial  blood  become  mixed 
together,  the  former  being  only  partially  returned  to  the  lungs. 
The  respiration  in  these  creatures  is  therefore  imperfect,  or 
the  blood  is  only  partially  oxygenated.  Now,  as  the  condition 
of  the  atmosphere  was  such  as  to  furnish  life  only  to  reptiles, 
which  do  not  require  much  oxygen,  the  presumption  is,  that 
carbonic  acid  was  still  the  predominating  element.  Man  would 
have  been  stifled  at  once  in  such  a  world.  And  this  state  of 
things  appears  to  have  continued  throughout  the  whole  of 
that  vast  interval  of  time  immediately  succeeding  the  deposi- 
tion of  the  Palaeozoic  rocks,  which  is  called  by  Geologists  the 
SECONDARY  FORMATION,  and  which  Agassiz  has  very  appro- 
priately termed  the  "  Age  of  Eeptiles."  This  period  includes 
all  the  rock-formations  from  the  New  Ked  Sandstone  to  the 
Chalk. 

During  all  this  time,  the  land  was  not  continental,  but  the 
earth  continued  to  exhibit  the  appearance  of  an  archipelago 
of  greater  and  smaller  islands,  which  were  generally  without 
mountains,  presenting  a  low,  flat  surface.  Naturalists  are 
forced  to  these  conclusions  by  the  consideration  of  the  fossil 
remains  of  plants  and  animals  contained  in  the  Secondary 
rocks.  This  swampy  condition  of  things  undoubtedly  pre- 
vailed throughout  the  early  part  of  the  Secondary  era ;  but 
afterward  elevated  table-lands,  mountains,  and  hills  diversified 
the  features  of  the  landscape,  the  land  continually  encroaching 
on  the  territories  of  the  watery  element,  which,  nevertheless, 
still  occupied  the  greater  portion  of  the  earth's  surface. 

Hence  it  is  that  the  predominant  forms  are  amphibious 
reptiles  of  monstrous  size,  which  probably  took  their  maxi- 
mum development  during  the  Oolitic  period,  creatures  fitted 
to  inhabit  both  land  and  water.  The  birds,  too,  appear  to 
have  been  gigantic,  and  to  have  belonged  to  the  class  of 
waders,  which  at  present  tenant  low,  swampy  grounds  on  the 
margin  of  rivers  and  bays.  This  is  proved  by  their  long 
bones  and  immense  strides.  Professor  Hitchcock  discovered 


RELATIVE    GEOLOGICAL    ANTIQUITY    OF   TREES.          137 

the  impression  of  the  feet  of  the  wading  birds  in  the  New  Eed 
Sandstone  of  Connecticut.  These  impressions  are  some  of 
them  eighteen  inches  in  length  and  five  feet  apart,  so  that 
the  birds  making  them  must  have  far  exceeded  in  size  the 
largest  African  ostrich.  All  traces  of  mammalia  are  totally 
absent  from  the  New  Red  Sandstone,  the  Muschelchalk,  and 
Keuper,  and  are  first  found  in  the  slates  of  Stone  fields,  in 
the  upper  stages  of  the  Oolitic  formations. 

The  plants  found  in  the  Secondary  rocks  must  be  regarded 
as  a  flora  intermediate  between  the  plants  of  the  Palaeozoic 
rocks  and  the  Tertiary  formation.  Ferns  and  club-mosses 
are  not  so  abundant,  and  less  gigantic  in  their  growth ;  and, 
in  addition  to  these,  we  meet  with  a  great  number  of  Coniferae 
and  Cycadaceae,  or  plants  allied  to  the  Cicas  revoluta,  or  Sago 
Palm,  which  is  a  common  Chough  somewhat  costly  ornament 
of  the  conservatory.  The  stems  of  the  Cycadacea3  reached  at 
this  time  a  height  of  from  four  to  thirty-six  feet,  for  stems  as 
long  as  that  have  been  found ;  but  at  present  three  feet  is  the 
maximum  length  of  the  stems  of  these  plants,  which  are  not 
so  numerous  as  formerly,  as  they  have  been  to  some  extent 
superseded  by  the  Palm,  a  plant  which  is  related  to  them  but 
far  more  highly  organized. 

We  have  clear  proof,  from  vegetable  remains  found  in  the 
Lias  and  Oolitic  rocks,  of  a  landscape  diversified  by  hills  and 
valleys.  The  remains  of  Pine-trees,  which  usually  develop 
on  a  dry,  poor  soil,  are  found,  along  with  the  fruit  and  leaves 
of  Zamias  plants  belonging  to  the  Cycadaceae,  which  require 
moisture  and  heat  in  order  to  grow,  by  which  we  are  forcibly 
reminded  of  a  hilly  if  not  mountainous  landscape  within  the 
tropics.  The  Pines  would  grow  on  the  hills,  or  elevated 
lands  of  the  islands,  which  were  probably  wooded  to  their 
summit,  whilst  the  Cycadaceae,  the  ferns,  club-mosses,  and 
horse-tails,  would  grow  on  the  low  lands  which  surrounded 
them. 

In  the  Chalk  rocks  especially  are  the  vegetable  remains 
interesting.  We  find  here  the  remains  of  plants  with  true 
leaves,  and  the  first  trees  of  this  kind  turn  out  to  be  Willows  ! 
which  it  is  well  known  will  develop  in  a  poor  soil  provided 


138          KELATIVE   GEOLOGICAL   ANTIQUITY   OF   TKEES. 

there  is  the  requisite  amount  of  moisture.  In  addition  to  the 
leaves  of  the  Willow,  those  of  the  Elm  and  Maple  trees  have 
been  found.  "We  also  meet  with  fragments  of  dicotyledonous 
wood,  marked  by  perforations  of  marine  animals. 

With  the  Chalk  we  close,  as  it  were,  the  second  great  series 
of  volumes  of  the  history  of  the  animal  and  vegetable  crea- 
tion. Every  thing  up  to  this  point  belongs  to  the  past.  The 
fossils,  both  animal  and  vegetable,  all  belong  to  species  no 
longer  in  existence  ;  they  are  the  fossil  remains  of  extinct  spe- 
cies. With  the  commencement  of  the  Tertiary  formation  a 
new  condition  of  things  obtains,  and  new  forms  of  life  make 
their  appearance,  beautifully  adapted  to  the  ever-changing 
landscape,  some  of  them  belonging  to  species  now  in  existence, 
•and  occupy  the  places  of  that  organized  life  which  has  forever 
passed  away. 

We  have  shown  that  in  the  earlier  periods  of  the  earth's 
formation  the  climate  was  nearly  uniform  over  the  whole 
earth,  because  it  was  not  determined  by  the  sun,  but  by  the 
interior  heat  of  the  earth.  In  the  Secondary  epoch  the  influ- 
ence of  the  sun  was  hardly  yet  felt,  although  the  earth  had  so 
far  cooled  as  to  be  more  susceptible  to  outward  influences, 
and  the  atmosphere  had  become,  comparatively  speaking, 
clearer  and  more  pure.  3at  at  the  time  of  the  formation  of 
the  Tertiary  beds,  the  earth  had  cooled  to  such  a  degree  that 
the  effects  produced  by  its  internal  heat  had  almost  entirely 
ceased,  and  the  heat  received  by  its  surface  was  mainly  derived 
from  the  sun.  Then  arose  that  diversity  of  climate  which  is 
characteristic  of  the  present  creation.  The  sun  gradually  ac- 
quired his  rightful  empire  over  the  world,  and  all  Nature 
became  dependent  on  his  kindly  influences. 

The  poles  of  the  earth,  which  obtain  the  least  amount  of 
sunlight,  were  necessarily  cooled  more  rapidly  than  the  beds 
of  land  at  the  equator,  where  the  greatest  amount  of  light  and 
heat  is  received,  whilst  the  zone  intermediate  between  the 
polar  and  equatorial  regions,  where  the  conditions  calculated 
to  develope  a  superior  race  most  abound,  became,  in  course 
of  time,  fitted  for  the  reception  of  humanity,  science,  and 
civilization. 


RELATIVE   GEOLOGICAL   ANTIQUITY   OF  TREES.          139 

With  this  gradual  increase  in  the  variety  of  the  external 
conditions,  the  dull  uniformity  of  former  creations  passed 
away ;  and  as  the  difference  of  temperature  in  the  several  re- 
gions of  the  earth  slowly  increased,  there  became  gradually 
organized  that  immense  variety  of  animals  and  plants  which 
now  occupy  the  air,  the  earth,  and  the  water. 

Hence  it  is  that  the  Tertiary  fossils  consist  of  the  remains 
of  species  now  in  existence,  intermingled  with  such  as  have 
become  extinct.  Sir  Charles  Lyell,  the  English  geologist,  has 
proposed  a  classification  of  the  Tertiary  beds,  based  on  the 
relative  proportion  of  extinct  and  recent  species  found  among 
the  fossils  of  each  formation,  which  has  been  generally  adopted. 
He  divides  the  Tertiary  group  into  the  Eocene,  Miocene,  and 
Pliocene  formations.  These  three  words  originate  from  the 
Greek.  Eocene  is  derived  from  Gr.  eos  twilight  and  Jcainos 
recent,  which  designates  very  beautifully  the  commencement 
of  this  new  geological  period,  as  the  morning  rays  of  the 
present  creation.  Miocene  from  Gr.  melon  less,  and  kainos ; 
and  Pleiocene  from  Gr.  pleion  more  and  kainos. 

It  is  probable  that  there  was  very  little  ice  formed  in  the 
northern  hemisphere  until  about  the  close  of  the  Tertiary 
epoch ;  because  the  plants  found  in  the  Tertiary  beds  clearly 
indicate  the  prevalence  of  a  much  higher  temperature  within 
the  temperate  zones  than  that  which  now  exists  there.  Both 
London  and  Paris  stand  on  the  Tertiary  strata.  The  same 
formations  are  also  met  with  in  Hampshire,  and  in  the  Isle  of 
Wight,  England,  and  in  the  South  of  Europe,  Asia,  and 
America. 

The  plants  found  in  the  Tertiary  beds  are  totally  different 
from  those  which  are  obtained  from  the  Palaeozoic  and  Second- 
ary rocks.  The  land  appears  to  have  been  richly  clothed 
with  a  vegetation  not  very  different  from  that  which  prevails 
in  warm  climates  at  the  present  day.  The  leaves  of  the  Elm, 
Maple,  Beech,  Poplar,  Oak,  and  other  modern  forest  trees  have 
been  found ;  also  pieces  of  wood  which  present  the  structure 
of  pepper  plants  and  palms.  The  fossil  plants  of  the  Isle  of 
Sheppey,  which  is  situated  near  the  English  coast,  have  been 
examined  by  Bowerbank,  and  have  led  to  the  determination 


140          RELATIVE   GEOLOGICAL   ANTIQUITY   OF   TREES. 

of  several  hundred  species  of  plants,  all  of  them  extinct,  and 
all  resembling  plants  of  warmer  climates. 

During  these  geological  periods,  the  marine  or  amphibian 
reptiles  of  the  Secondary  rocks  were  replaced  by  numerous 
mammalia  of  enormous  size.  This  era  has  therefore  been 
called  by  Agassiz,  the  "  AGE  OF  MAMMALS." 

If  we  would  form  for  ourselves  an  idea  approximating  to  a 
true  conception  of  the  appearance  which  the  earth  presented 
during  this  era,  we  must  consider  the  land  as  still  partially 
insular,  or  a  loosely-connected  group  of  islands,  covered  with 
low  volcanoes.  The  problem,  what  is  it  ?  To  unite  more  and 
more  the  solid  land  and  to  restrain  the  oceanic  life.  Through 
the  influence  of  air  and  light  shall  the  life  on  the  land  be  in- 
creased, and  the  life  developed  by  the  waters  be  circumscribed ; 
and  through  the  influence  of  a  diversity  of  climate,  a  greater 
variety  in  creation  shall  be  produced,  and  thus  the  regular 
powers  of  Nature  be  brought  to  work  together  harmoniously. 

The  climate  of  the  northern  hemisphere,  which  had  been, 
during  the  Tertiary  epoch,  considerably  warmer  than  now,  so 
as  to  allow  the  growth  of  palm  trees  in  our  present  temperate 
zones,  became  much  colder  toward  the  end  of  that  period,  in 
consequence  of  the  gradual  accumulation  of  snow  and  ice  at 
the  poles.  The  ice  formation  began  manifestly  about  this 
time,  for  as  we  go  further  back  into  the  history  of  the  earth, 
through  the  Tertiary  deposits  to  the  time  of  the  Chalk  forma- 
tion, we  find  neither  erratic  blocks,  nor  any  indications  of  the 
marks  of  glaciers ;  on  the  contrary,  the  proofs  become  more 
and  more  apparent,  that  the  earth  in  these  earlier  epochs  was 
much  warmer  than  it  is  at  present.  Hence  the  appearance  of 
ice  at  the  poles  and  on  the  summits  of  mountains  must  be  re- 
garded as  comparatively  speaking  a  recent  event  in  the  history 
of  creation,  and  is  contemporaneous  with  some  of  the  last 
revolutions  to  which  the  earth  has  been  subjected. 

The  glacial  or  ice  period  is  considered  to  have  produced 
those  numerous  detached  fragments  of  foreign  rocks  which 
we  find  scattered  over  the  surface  of  the  soil,  and  which  are 
known  under  the  name  of  erratics,  boulders,  or  grey-heads. 
These  drift  materials  are  called  Diluvium,  as  their  transporta- 


RELATIVE   GEOLOGICAL   ANTIQUITY   OF  TREES.  141 

tion  to  their  several  locations  was  erroneously  attributed  to  the 
Noachian  deluge,  which  name  they  nevertheless  still  retain, 
although  it  is  now  certain  that  they  have  been  conveyed 
thither  by  icebergs,  or  glaciers,  which  have  been  borne  by 
the  currents  of  the  ocean  southward  from  the  poles,  or  have 
descended  from  the  summit  of  the  mountains  into  the  adjacent 
valleys.  These  glaciers  are  always  loaded  with  heaps  of  gravel 
or  blocks  of  stone,  and  as  they  come  down  from  the  regions 
of  perpetual  frost  and  snow  into  warmer  countries,  the  ice 
necssarily  melts,  and  the  gravel  and  blocks  are  left  lying  on 
the  earth's  surface. 

The  commencement  of  the  Diluvial  epoch  was  probably 
ushered  in  by  the  volcano  and  earthquake.  The  sea  showed 
its  gigantic  power,  covering  with  its  waves  the  land,  which 
was  now  torn  and  uplifted  into  mountain  chains,  whose  lofty 
summits  were  whitened  with  the  snows  of  a  perpetual  winter. 
The  glaciers  or  deposits  of  snow  on  these  mountains  descended 
much  further  into  the  valleys  than  at  the  present  time,  and 
the  polar  glaciers  probably  advanced  further  South.  The 
temperature  of  the  North  pole  was  about  the  same  as  the 
present  temperature  of  the  South  pole,  which  is  described  by 
all  Arctic  explorers  to  be  the  most  inaccessible. 

The  prodigious  forces  then  called  into  exercise  at  this  era 
are  seen  in  the  unusual  majesty  of  these  mountain  chains ; 
forces,  in  comparison  with  which,  the  physical  power  put  forth 
by  the  mightiest  nations  of  the  earth  is  as  the  feebleness  of 
infancy. 

When  volcanoes  thunder  and  blaze — when  earthquakes 
rend  and  pile  up  granite  rocks  above  the  region  of  the  clouds, 
in  such  a  presence  shall  mortal  man  boast  of  his  exertions  of 
physical  power  ?  What  mathematician  can  even  begin  to  cal- 
culate the  vast  forces  of  nature  which  have  been  called  into 
exercise  in  the  formation  of  a  mountainous  landscape  ?  Stand 
under  the  uplifted  rocks,  and  contrast  the  mightiest  displays 
of  human  power  with  these  exhibitions  of  the  secret  energies 
of  Nature !  Amid  such  manifestations  of  Almighty  power, 
humility  of  mind  and  silent  adoration  is  true  philosophy.  To 
a  mind  capable  of  appreciating  these  forces  in  their  grandeur, 


142          KELATIVE    GEOLOGICAL   ANTIQUITY   OF    TREES. 

such  a  state  of  feeling  is  the  inevitable  result  of  these  sublime 
"  Aspects  of  Nature." 

The  annual  melting  of  the  snows  on  the  summits  of  the 
mountains  furnished  perpetual  supplies  of  water,  which  in  the 
form  of  springs,  rivulets,  or  mountain  cataracts,  descended 
to  lower  levels,  irrigating  the  richly- wooded  valleys ;  or  a 
thousand  little  tributary  streamlets,  which  are  always  governed 
in  the  directions  which  they  take  by  the  inequalities  of  the 
ground  over  which  they  move,  all  poured  together  their  tribu- 
tary waters,  until  finally  they  formed  the  great  rivers  of  the 
earth  which  now  perpetually  roll  along  to  the  ocean.  Many 
of  the  animals  of  this  period,  such  as  the  hyena  and  bear, 
lived  in  caves.  In  the  famous  cavern  at  Kirkdale,  in  York- 
shire, England,  "  parts  of  the  skeletons  of  from  two  to  three 
hundred  hyenas  have  been  detected,  mixed  with  portions  of 
the  osseous  framework  of  the  cave-tiger,  the  cave-bear,  the  ox, 
the  deer,  the  mammoth,  and  the  rhinoceros."* 

So  far  no  human  remains  have  been  discovered,  no  skeletons 
except  those  of  the  hitherto  irrational  denizens  of  the  earth. 
Human  skeletons  are  only  fonnd  in  modern  fluviatile  and  ma- 
rine deposits,  along  with  the  bones  of  the  existing  species  of 
animals,  and  of  the  leaves  and  branches  of  plants  now  grow- 
ing on  the  earth's  surface,  or  they  occur  in  those  ancient  reposi- 
tories of  the  dead  called,  by  antiquarians,  barrows  or  tumuli. 
Man  is  therefore,  comparatively  speaking,  a  recent  creation. 

The  occurrence  of  human  skeletons  in  modern  fluviatile  de- 
posits, accompanied  by  coins  and  works  of  art,  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  bones  of  the  existing  species  of  animals,  and  of  the 
leaves  and  branches  of  plants  now  growing  on  the  earth's  sur- 
face, in  the  various  geological  formations  now  in  progress, 
shows  the  immutability  of  Nature,  and  proves  that  the  same 
enduring  monuments  of  the  present  state  of  things  will  be 
transmitted  to  future  ages  as  we  possess  of  the  former  condi- 
tions of  the  earth. 

The  earth  was  created  for  man.  To  him  the  whole  of  these 
changes  point  from  the  first  appearance  of  life  in  the  Palaeozoic 

"  The  Testimony  of  the  Rocks,"  by  HUGH  MILLER.     1857. 


EELATIVE    GEOLOGICAL    ANT  QUIT Y   OF   TREES.          143 

rocks.  His  first  appearance,  which  is  thought  to  be  so  myste- 
rious, is  no  more  difficult  to  understand  than  the  appearance 
of  any  other  organism.  He  was  introduced  at  the  time  when 
the  earth  was  ready  for  him.  His  existence  on  the  earth,  if 
it  is  to  be  accounted  for  scientifically,  is  a  question  of  Natural 
History,  which  at  present  is  not  sufficiently  advanced  to  ex- 
plain the  introduction  of  any  of  the  forms  of  life  which  have 
appeared  at  the  several  geological  eras.  He  is  undoubtedly 
the  noblest  which  has  yet  tenanted  the  earth,  the  crown  of  the 
creation ;  and  as  his  appearance  is  quite  a  recent  event,  and 
the  earth  has  been  so  many  ages  preparing  for  him,  the  prob- 
abilities are  that  it  will  continue  to  endure  for  myriads  of  ages 
yet  to  come.  The  conviction  of  the  constancy  of  Nature 
deepens  with  every  footstep  which  is  taken  in  physical  inves- 
tigations. The  system  of  things  is  perpetually  changing,  yet 
the  laws  which  govern  these  changes  remain  invariably  the 
same.  When  viewed  by  the  light  of  the  eternity  that  is  past, 
or  seen  through  those  vast  periods  contemplated  in  Geology, 
the  land  loses  its  attribute  of  fixity  and  becomes  as  movable 
as  the  ocean.  These  grand  and  more  worthy  views  of  the 
Works  of  the  Creator  are  the  result  of  the  investigations  of 
Science.  It  is  not  stating  more  than  is  strictly  true,  when  we 
affirm  that  there  is  physical  proof  in  the  rocky  strata  of  our 
globe,  and  the  organic  remains  which  they  contain,  of  changes 
which  must  have  taken  thousands  of  millions  of  years  to 
bring  about,  and  this  necessarily  impresses  on  the  mind  the 
conviction  that  Nature  will  remain  subject  to  the  same  laws 
for  myriads  of  ages  yet  to  come.  Why  should  we  doubt  the 
constancy  of  Nature  through  coming  duration,  when  she  has 
left  us  such  irresistible  proof  of  her  invariability  through  the 
eternity  that  is  past  ? 

"  The  study  of  vegetable  fossils,"  says  Professor  Henfrey, 
"  is  far  less  satisfactory  than  that  of  animal  remains,  since,  in 
the  great  majority  of  cases,  the  structures  most  distinctive  of 
the  subordinate  groups  of  plants  are  formed  of  very  perish- 
able matter.  Genera  and  even  species  of  animals  may  be 
recognized  by  bones  and  shells,  which  are  of  a  very  persistent 
nature,  and  are  found  abundantly  in  stratified  rocks.  The 


144  RELATIVE   GEOLOGICAL   ANTIQUITY   OF  TREES. 

vegetable  bodies  which  can  resist  the  long-continued  action  of 
water  are  few,  and  these  mostly  afford  only  characters  of  large 
sections  of  the  Vegetable  Kingdom,  without  furnishing  generic, 
far  less  specific  distinctions." 

It  is  therefore  probable,  that  the  fossil  plants  which  have 
hitherto  been  found,  only  partially  represent  the  floras  of 
thesa  remote  ages ;  and  there  is  no  denying  that  ideas  obtained 
from  fossil  plants,  must  be  necessarily  superficial  and  very 
speculative.  But  there  is  a  sufficient  amount  of  evidence 
furnished  by  them  to  show  satisfactorily  that  the  first  plants 
did  not  originate  frrm  seed  but  from  spores.  They  were  un- 
doubtedly Cryptogams.  And  the  first  land  plants  were  cer- 
tainly swamp  plants.  Mosses,  fitted  to  live  in  water  as  to-day 
Bog-mosses  are  accustomed,  gigantic  Calamites  and  Lepido- 
dendra.  For  ever  since  land  existed  there  have  been  plants 
of  tree-like  proportions  and  bulk.  It  is  not  necessary  that 
there  should  be  a  rich  and  varied  flora  for  this  result  to  be 
produced.  "Were  there  no  other  plants  in  existence  now  but 
those  belonging  to  the  Natural  Order  Kosaceae,  we  should  still 
have  herbs,  shrubs,  and  trees  covering  the  landscape.  The 
yellow  cinquefoil  (Potentilla  Canadensis),  and  the  wild  straw- 
berry (Fragaria  Virginiana),  are  lowly  herbaceous  plants ;  the 
common  blackberry  (Rubus  villosus),  and  the  swamp  rose 
(Rosa  lucida),  are  shrubs ;  and  the  apple,  pear,  plum,  and 
cherry  are  the  fruits  of  trees,  yet  the  whole  of  these  are  Ko- 
saceous  plants.  Therefore,  notwithstanding  the  great  same- 
ness of  the  plants  which  covered  these  ancient  landscapes, 
they  were  not  without  their  trees. 

As  the  land  became  more  elevated  and  free  from  water, 
Cycadacea?,  Coniferse,  and  a  plant  allied  to  the  Pandanus  01 
Screw  Pine  of  the  tropics,  were  added  to  these  primeval  for- 
ests ;  then  Dicotyledonous  trees  with  true  leaves,  such  as  the 
Willow  and  Maple,  and  along  with  them  we  find  the  first  evi- 
dence of  the  creation  of  flowers,  for  Nature  is  always  consistent 
with  herself,  flowers  being,  as  is  now  universally  admitted, 
nothing  but  the  ordinary  leaves  of  the  stem,  brought  together 
in  consequence  of  a  loss  of  vegetative  power  in  the  branch  on 
which  they  are  borne,  and  metamorphosed  with  reference 


RELATIVE   GEOLOGICAL   ANTIQUITY   OF  TEEES.  145 

to  the  reproductive  function.  The  first  bee  makes  its  appear- 
ance in  the  amber  or  fossil  resin  of  the  Pines  of  the  Eocene 
period ;  the  fragments  of  the  wings  of  butterflies  and  other 
flower-sucking  insects  are  also  frequently  met  with  enclosed 
in  the  same  substance.  Dicotyledonous  trees  of  a  low  order 
of  organization,  such  as  the  Birch,  Beech,  Oak,  Poplar,  Chest- 
nut, and  Hornbeam,  were  probably  as  abundant  in  the  forests 
of  the  Eocene  period  as  they  are  now  in  our  present  woods. 
But  there  is  no  proof  of  the  creation  of  Rosaceous  plants. 
These  seem  to  be  coeval  with  the  first  appearance  of  man. 

Our  forest  trees  were  therefore  not  all  created  at  the  same 
time,  but  are  the  product  of  different  geological  eras ;  and 
the  present  plant-covering  is  only  a  fragment  of  many  ante- 
cedent plant-creations.     Coniferous  trees  with  needle-shaped 
leaves,  such  as  the  Pine,  Fir,  and  Larch ;  also  Ferns,  Horse- 
tails, and  Club-mosses,  are  among  the  most  ancient  and  per- 
sistent types.     They  have  descended  down  to  us  from  the 
oldest  periods  of  the  creation.     This  remark  applies  especially 
to  the  Natural  Order  Conifers,  which  from  the  most  ancient 
times  even  until  now,  in  new  varieties  and  splendors,  has  con- 
tinued to   develope.     The   first  flowers   among  herbaceous 
plants  appear  to  have  been  land  and  water  lilies,  and  plants  be- 
longing to  the  Natural  Order  Ericaceas  or  the  Heath  tribe,  such 
as  the  Whortleberry  (  Vaccinium),  and  the  Alpine  Rose  (Rho- 
dodendron).    Among  trees  bearing  true  leaves  and  conspicuous 
flowers,  the  Tulip  Poplar  (Liriodendron  tulip  f era),  appears  to 
be  an  ancient  forest  form,  so  also  trees  belonging  to  the  Natu- 
ral Order  Leguminosa3  or  the  Pea  tribe,  such  as  the  False 
Acacia  (RoUnia  Pseudo-Acacia),  and  the  Honey  Locust  (Ole- 
ditschia  triacanthos).    These  trees  all  preceded  Rosaceous  plants 
in  the  plan  of  creation.     Trees  bearing  edible  fruits,  as  well 
as  beautiful  blossoms,  such  as  the  Peach,  Apricot,  Apple,  Pear, 
Plum,  and  Cherry,  were  introduced  when  the  earth  was  fitted 
for  the  reception  of  man,  their  remains  are  only  found  in  the 
modern  Geological  formations  now  in  progress,  and  therefore 
like  him  they  must  be  regarded  as  among  the  recent  creations. 
The  most  important  fact  taught  by  this  Geological  history 
of  the  plant  world,  is  that  the  organic  and  inorganic  creation 


146  RELATIVE   GEOLOGICAL   ANTIQUITY   OF  TEEES. 

slowly  assumed  its  present  appearance,  and  the  evidence  would 
seem  to  lead  us  irresistibly  to  the  conclusion,  that  changes 
have  taken  place  in  the  organization  of  plants,  by  which  their 
forms  have  been  gradually  and  contemporaneously  adapted  to 
the  ever  changing  landscape.  Hence  the  history  of  the  de- 
velopment of  plants  is  intimately  associated  with  the  history 
of  those  physical  changes  which  the  earth's  surface  has  under- 
gone. Just  as  the  present  form  of  a  grand  and  venerable  tree, 
which  appears  to  us  to  be  fixed,  but  in  reality  is  as  fleeting 
as  all  the  other  forms  through  which  that  tree  has  passed  from 
its  first  life-movement  in  the  seed,  is  the  final  result  of  a  long 
series  of  antecedent  changes,  so  with  the  globe  which  we  in- 
habit. The  present  appearance  or,  more  truthfully  speaking, 
phase  of  creation,  is  the  necessary  result  of  a  long  succession 
of  antecedent  changes  of  which  the  earth's  crust  has  preserved 
the  memorial.  This  world,  what  is  it  but  a  great  and  ancient 
theatre,  where  the  scenery  of  life  is  ever  changing  ?  And  who 
dare  say  that  the  present  arrangements  of  land  and  water,  the 
forms  of  our  modern  forest  trees,  and  of  the  entire  animal 
creation,  are  now  any  more  fixed  .and  unalterable  than  at  any 
previous  epoch  ?  Nothing  on  earth  is  permanent,  if  there  is 
any  truth  in  the  teachings  of  the  past,  and  any  constancy  in 
Nature. 

When  a  traveler  at  the  foot  of  a  mountain  in  the  tropics 
ascends  toward  its  summit,  he  remarks  the  same  change  in 
the  features  of  fcie  landscape  as  in  advancing  from  the  equator 
to  the  poles.  In  both  instances  he  finds  that  the  temperature 
declines,  that  water,  whether  in  the  form  of  vapor  or  fluid, 
changes  to  eternal  ice,  and  with  this  loss  of  heat  the  vegetable 
kingdom  diminishes  and  becomes  substantially  altered.  The 
plant-covering  of  the  earth,  from  this  point  of  observation, 
may  therefore  be  regarded  as  a  living  geographical  ther- 
mometer. The  condition  of  vegetation  at  the  equator  and 
the  poles  form  in  this  respect  a  striking  contrast.  At  the 
equator  the  quicksilver  in  the  tube  of  the  thermometer  reaches 
its  maximum  elevation ;  at  the  poles  it  is  depressed  to  a  mini- 
mum. So  with  the  vegetable  kingdom.  At  the  equator, 
its  types  reach  their  highest  expansion ;  the  stem,  leaves,  and 


RELATIVE   GEOLOGICAL  ANTIQUITY  OF  TREES.          147 

flowers  of  plants  are  gigantic,  and  their  colors  are  splendid 
and  dazzling.  At  the  poles,  the  plants  sink  down  to  the 
condition  of  dwarfs ;  their  foliage  is  tough  and  coriaceous,  and 
of  a  dark  and  sombre  green,  gloomy  as  the  long  night  of  the 
polar  world.  In  some  cases  even  here  the  northern  lights, 
and  the  reflection  of  the  wonderful  midnight  sun,  produce  in 
some  of  the  plants  an  unexpected  splendor  of  coloring.  In 
the  steady  light  which  comes  from  the  sun  as  he  circulates 
about  the  horizon  for  weeks,  the  grasses  and  other  plants 
assumed  a  softened  green.  But  far  purer  and  higher  are  the 
colors  of  the  flowers.  The  Trientalis  and  Anemone,  which  in 
temperate  climates  produce  white  flowers,  steep  themselves  in 
the  beams  of  the  midnight  sun  of  the  deepest  red. 

Now  if  the  organism  of  the  plants  thus  varies  on  the  earth's 
surface,  from  the  valley  to  the  mountain  summit,  and  from 
the  equator  to  the  poles,  then  it  is  plain  that  any  physical 
revolutions  which  shall,  in  the  course  of  ages,  change  the 
features  of  the  land,  must  at  the  same  time  produce  a  change 
in  its  flora.  We  know  that  when  forests  are  cut  down  in 
America,  the  plants  which  grew  beneath  their  shade  become 
exhausted  and  die  out ;  so,  also,  swamp  plants  and  trees  dis- 
appear when  the  soil  is -drained  of  its  superfluous  water. 
Would  not  the  same  results  take  place  if  such  changes  were 
brought  about  in  the  course  of  ages  through  the  operation 
of  the  ordinary  forces  of  Nature?  It  is  certain  that  land 
cannot  be  first  elevated  and  then  depressed  below  the  surface 
of  old  Ocean,  without  great  changes  in  temperature,  and  that 
many  species  would  in  this  way  naturally  perish  when  the 
conditions  became  unsuited  to  their  growth.  Fossil  plants 
may  be  truly  regarded  as  the  remains  of  a  system  of  vegeta- 
ble life,  developed  under  external  conditions  which  are  no 
longer  the  same  in  any  part  of  the  world. 

But  there  are  indestructible  organic  features  which  connect 
the  flora  of  the  present  with  that  of  former  ages.  Not  only 
individuals,  but  even  species,  genera,  and  whole  orders,  have 
perished ;  but  there  prevail,  in  the  present  Creation,  forms  or 
types  which  existed  in  the  most  remote  geological  periods. 
This  proves  indisputably  that  there  are  certain  persistent 


148          EELATIVE   GEOLOGICAL   ANTIQUITY   OF   TEEES. 

features  in  plants  which  have  not  been  affected  by  the  physi- 
cal revolutions  which  the  earth  has  undergone.  Surely  there 
is  nothing-  unreasonable  in  believing,  that  in  such  cases  there 
is,  to  a  certain  extent,  power  given  to  vegetable  matter  to 
adapt  itself  to  a  gradual  change  of  circumstances.  We  know 
that  great  changes  may  be  effected  in  a  brief  space  of  time  in 
the  organization  of  plants  by  cultivation,  or  a  change  in  their 
external  circumstances,  and  why  should  not  an  organic 
change  be  brought  about  in  plants  when  their  external 
circumstances  are  altered  by  Nature  in  the  course  of  ages  ? 

"  If,"  says  Prof.  Draper,*  "  we  expose  some  spring  water 
to  the  sunshine,  though  it  may  have  been  clear  -and  transpa- 
rent at  first,  it  presently  begins  to  assume  a  greenish  tinge, 
and  after  a  while  flocks  of  green  matter  collect  on  the  sides 
of  the  vessel  in  which  it  is  contained ;  in  these  flocks,  when- 
ever the  sun  is  shining,  bubbles  of  gas  may  be  seen,  which 
if  collected  prove  to  be  a  mixture  of  oxygen  and  nitrogen, 
the  proportions  of  the  two  being  variable.  In  the  mean  time 
the  green  matter  rapidly  grows ;  its  new  parts,  as  they  are 
developed,  being  all  day  long  covered  with  air  bells,  which 
disappear  as  soon  as  the  sun  has  set.  Similar  green  flocks 
to  these  of  which  we  speak,  are  also  found  on  the  surfaces 
of  rocks  exposed  to  the  sea,  damp  walls,  and  other  places 
where  there  is  constant  moisture.  These  plants  belong  to  the 
Alga3  or  sea- weed  tribe.  This  green  matter  thus  formed  is 
produced  from  the  gaseous  matter,  Oxygen,  Nitrogen,  and 
Carbonic  acid,  contained  in  the  water  in  a  state  of  solution. 
It  is  necessary,  however,  to  admit  the  existence  of  some  germ 
or  objective-point  on  which  the  light  can  act.  As  we  have 
already  said,  a  bubble  of  gas  soon  makes  its  appearance,  and 
growth  with  the  development  of  the  green  color  takes  place. 
If  we  examine  the  changes  now  occurring  in  the  water,  we 
find  that  the  Carbonic  acid  is  disappearing  and  Oxygen  and 
Nitrogen  are  evolved.  Contemporaneously  with  the  develop- 
ment of  this  green  matter  that  of  animal  life  begins,  and  thou- 
sands of  aquatic  animals  are  formed  which  live  on  it  as  food. 

*  "  A  Treatise  on  the  Forces  which  produce  the  Organization  of  Plants," 
by  JOHX  W.  DRAPER.  1844. 


RELATIVE   GEOLOGICAL   ANTIQUITY  OF  TREES.          149 

Hence  it  is  the  object  of  vegetable  matter  to  form  from  in- 
organic matter,  organic  molecules,  as  food  for  animals." 

In  a  similar  manner,  probably,  originated  in  old  Ocean  the 
first  plants.  Scarcely  were  the  solid  parts  of  the  earth  created, 
than  the  procreative  power  of  its  organic  germs  was  called  forth. 
Vegetable  life  was  at  first  entirely  aquatic,  then  amphibious, 
and  lastly  terrestrial.  It  was  the  same  with  the  animal  world : 
first  fishes,  then  swamp  reptiles  and  aquatic  birds,  and  lastly 
land  and  air  life — mammalia  and  man.  So  plants  must  have 
been  created  before  herbivorous  animals,  and  these  last  before 
those  carnivorous  races  which  prey  upon  them,  and  the  whole 
of  whose  habits,  instincts,  and  organs  are  most  wonderfully 
and  beautifully  adapted  for  their  destruction  as  sources  of 
food.  Lastly  appeared  man,  Omnivorous.  So,  from  the  first 
plant  to  man-creation  is  one  continuous  chain ;  and  the  pres- 
ent glorious  and  variegated  vegetable  carpet  which  covers 
the  earth,  with  its  beautiful  flowers  and  grand  forest  trees,  is 
only  a  fragment  of  former  plant-creations  which  have  been 
conducted  on  plan  and  system  by  a  Providence  whom  man- 
kind must  learn  to  look  up  to  as  THE  UNIVERSAL  FATHER. 
A  proof  that,  in  the  whole  of  Nature,  all  creatures  are  con- 
tinuous and  inseparably  connected  with  each  other,  so  that 
the  earth,  with  all  its  living  forms,  constitutes  one  entire 
whole,  in  which  each  plant  and  animal  has  its  place,  which 
it  necessarily  occupies  and  fills. 

It  seems  therefore  plain  that  the  earth,  with  its  atmospheric 
covering,  its  continents  and  ever-sounding  seas,  with  all  their 
rich  variety  of  life,  is  as  much  an  organism  as  any  tree  on 
its  surface.  There  is  the  same  continuity  and  mutual  depen- 
dency of  all  its  parts,  the  same  system  of  perpetual  change 
on  its  surface,  and  the  same  record  of  its  progress  and  past 
changes  preserved  in  its  interior. 

Header,  if  you  cultivate  a  garden,  as  I  hope  you  do,  you 
can  see  the  beginning  and  end  of  the  lowly  plants  growing 
around  your  dwelling,  and  you  know  that  they  put  forth  a 
regular  cycle  of  organic  appendages,  of  leaves,  flowers,  and 
fruits ;  and  it  is  the  same  with  the  forest  trees,  whose  life- 
history  covers  a  longer  period  of  time.  Now  if  the  cycle  of 


150         RELATIVE   GEOLOGICAL  ANTIQUITY   OF  TREES. 

changes  which  form  collectively  the  life  of  a  flower  or  tree 
are  conducted  on  a  plan  and  system,  why  not  those  of  this 
world?  Does  it  not  necessarily  follow,  when  all  Nature  is 
thus  bound  together  in  adamantine  links  ?  I  confess  to  you, 
reader,  that  this  assemblage  of  facts  connected  with  the  devel- 
opment of  life  on  the  surface  of  our  planet,  this  mutual 
dependency  which  pervades  all  Nature,  and  this  order  and 
mechanism  which  ever  surrounds  me,  inspires  me  with  the 
profoundest  of  all  convictions,  that  there  is  plan  and  system 
pervading  the  whole  of  these  onward  movements.  I  have 
thought  on  this  subject  until  I  feel  myself  to  be  a  part  of 
Nature,  linked  on  the  one  hand  with  the  lichen  on  the  rock, 
and,  on  the  other,  with  the  most  distant  star,  for  I  know  not 
where  to  break  the  chain. 

I  am  connected  with  the  whole  of  Creation,  and  with  a 
system  of  things  conducted  on  a  plan  so  vast  that  I  see 
neither  the  beginning  nor  the  end.*  I  know  that  the  parts 
of  a  tree  are  put  together  with  matchless  skill  and  beauty, 
and  my  impression  is,  that  things  are  just  as  well  and  wisely 
ordered  in  this  world.  We  meet  with  much  that  is  dark  and 
distressing  in  life  ;  but  let  us  place  a  cheerful  trust  in  Divine 
Providence,  and  rest  assured  that  ALL  is  FOR  THE  BEST. 

For  my  own  part,  I  have  been  very  happy  in  tracing  out 
these  beautiful  harmonies  in  Creation.  Nature  is  a  library 
from  which  no  man  can  be  excluded.  I  have  come  to  look 
upon  her  lowly  flowers  and  lofty  trees  as  my  books.  Seated 
beneath  some  shadowy  beech  or  venerable  oak,  I  have  an 
infinite  variety  of  choice  volumes  in  the  flowers  spread  at  my 

*  "The  Author  of  Nature  has  not  given  laws  to  the  Universe  which, 
like  the  Institutions  of  man,  carry  in  themselves  the  elements  of  their 
own  destruction.  He  has  not  permitted  in  his  works  any  symptoms  of 
infancy  or  of  old  age,  or  any  sign  by  which  we  might  estimate  either 
their  future  or  their  past  duration.  He  may  put  an  end,  as  he  no  doubt 
gave  a  beginning,  to  the  present  system  at  some  determinate  period, 
but  we  may  safely  conclude  that  this  great  catastrophe  will  not  be 
brought  about  by  any  of  the  laws  now  in  existence,  and  that  it  is  not 
indicated  by  any  thing  which  we  perceive."—"  Illustrations  of  the  Hut- 
tonian  Theory  of  the  Earth,"  by  JOHN  PLAYFAIR.  1802. 


RELATIVE   GEOLOGICAL  ANTIQUITY  OF  TEEES.         151 

feet.  I  take  out  my  note-book  and  make  my  extracts.  And 
I  always  feel  happier  when  returning  from  reading  my  books 
in  my  library,  for  I  can  always  find  something  new  in  them. 

"  Nature  never  did  betray 
The  heart  that  loved  her  ;  'tis  her  privilege 
Through  all  the  years  of  this  our  life  to  lead 
From  joy  to  joy  ;  for  she  can  so  inform 
The  mind  that  is  within  us,  so  impress 
With  quietness  and  beauty,  and  so  feed 
With  lofty  thoughts,  that  neither  evil  tongues, 
Rash  judgments,  nor  the  sneers  of  selfish  men, 
Nor  greetings  where  no  kindness  is,  nor  all 
The  dreary  intercourse  of  daily  life, 
Shall  e'er  prevail  against  us,  or  disturb 
Our  cheerful  faith  that  all  that  we  behold 
Is  full  of  blessings." 


CHAPTER  IX. 

CHANGE  WHICH  TAKES  PLACE  IN  THE  CONSTITUTION  OF 

TREES  AT  THE  PEEIOD  OF  PUBERTY,  ORGANIC  METAMOR- 
PHOSIS OF  THEIR  LEAVES  INTO  FLOWERS  AND  FRUIT, 
AND  RELATIVE  PHYSIOLOGICAL  RANK  OF  THE  FLORAL 
ORGANS. 

HITHERTO  our  remarks  have  been  confined  entirely  to  the 
vegetative  stages  in  the  development  of  the  tree;  and  therein 
we  have  endeavored  to  point  out  the  interesting  fact,  that  it 
is  a  plant  of  a  highly  compound  nature,  built  up  by  the  labors 
of  simple  individual  plants  or  phytons,  commonly  called  leaves. 
At  first  a  certain  number  of  these  leaves  associated  together 
form  individual  plants  of  a  higher  order  called  shoots ;  then 
these  shoots,  by  reproduction  and  association  of  themselves, 
produce  in  the  same  manner  plants  still  more  highly  com- 
pound, called  shoot  families ;  next,  these  families  of  shoots, 
developing  about  a  common  axis,  form  branches,  and  finally 
these  branches  unite  together  in  one  common  trunk,  and  thus 
construct  the  one  individual  Tree,  which  is  therefore  the  last 
and  most  highly  compound  plant  in  the  series,  and  the  noble 
descendant  of  an  unbroken  line  of  ancestors,  of  which  the 
first  phyton  or  leaf,  nourished  to  maturity  by  the  nursing 
leaves,  was  the  lowly  but  illustrious  parent. 

Now,  among  the  numberless  shoots  and  branches  of  a  tree, 
a  great  many  retain,  through  all  the  stages  of  its  life,  their 
purely  vegetative  character;  and  their  phytons  or  leaves, 
without  ever  experiencing  any  further  metamorphosis,  oscil- 
late forever  between  the  two  opposite  conditions  of  leaves 
and  bud  scales.  The  leaves  of  the  remainder,  however,  are 
carried  forward  to  the  highest  stage  of  vegetable  metamor- 
phosis, that  of  flowers  and  fruit.  This  takes  place  generally 
(152) 


ORGANIC  METAMORPHOSIS  OF  LEAVES.       153 

after  the  vegetative  powers  of  the  main  stem  and  its 
"branches  have  been  exhausted  by  the  development  of 
branchlets  and  twigs ;  for,  as  a  general  rule,  anything  that 
checks  vegetation  increases  the  tendency  to  reproduction. 

It  has  been  proved,  in  Chapter  YI,  that  the  vegetative 
powers  of  the  whole  tree,  in  common  with  those  of  each 
leaf,  shoot,  and  branch,  have  a  period  of  acceleration  and 
retardation  like  the  rising  and  the  falling  of  a  wave.  It 
is  at  that  period,  emphatically  called  the  "  change  of 
life," — when  these  powers  have  just  passed  their  culmina- 
ting point,  when  the  vegetative  vigor  of  the  tree  begins 
gradually  to  decline, — that  we  notice  a  peculiar  alteration 
in  its  habits  and  structure,  for  the  sap  of  the  tree  is  no 
longer  totally  expended  in  the  formation  of  new  shoots 
and  leaves,  but  partly  in  the  production  of  flowers  and 
fruit, 

In  herbaceous. plants,  no  flowers  manifest  themselves 
until  the  organization  has  first  acquired  the  degree  of 
strength  which  is  necessary  to  produce  them,  by  passing 
through  a  certain  series  of  vegetative  stages.  The  time 
required  for  this  purpose  depends  upon  the  peculiar  con- 
stitution of  the  plant :  in  some,  a  few  days  or  weeks  is  all 
that  is  necessary  to  form  a  vegetative  foundation  for  the 
flowers :  the  stage  of  puberty  is  reached,  and  the  plant 
unfolds  its  flowers,  forms  its  seed,  and  then  dies. 

This  is  the  case  with  some  of  our  native  annuals,  such  as 
the  Whitlow  Grass  (Draba  verna\  which  covers  the  ground 
with  a  profusion  of  small  white  flowers,  through  the 
months  of  March  and  April.  I  have  always  felt  an  espe- 
cial interest  in  this  plant,  on  account  of  the  beauty  and 
simplicity  of  its  organization,  and  the  brevity  of  its  life. 
The  radical  leaves,  which  are  disposed  about  the  scape,  or 
flower- stem,  in  a  stellate  manner,  make  quite  a  graceful 
appearance  on  the  ground ;  the  scape  itself  rises  from 
their  centre  to  a  height  varying  from  one  to  three  inches, 
and  supports  from  eight  to  twelve  small  white  flowers, 
which  form  little,  smooth,  ovate-lanceolate  seed-pods. 
This  lowly  plant  lives  about  two  or  three  weeks ;  it  then 

11 


154        ORGANIC  METAMORPHOSIS  OF  LEAVES 

passes  away,  and  other  flowers  occupy  its  place.  Its  form 
is  seen  no  more  until  the  cold,  moist  conditions  of  the 
early  part  of  the  year  again  prevail.  Then,  from  those 
germs  which  Nature  ever  carefully  preserves,  it  again 
springs  into  being  to  perform  its  allotted  part  in  the  great 
organism  of  the  Universe. 

In  works  on  descriptive  botany,  it  is  usual  to  employ 
certain  signs  to  designate  the  different  duration  of  plants. 
These  signs  are  those  used  by  astronomers  to  represent 
some  of  the  heavenly  bodies.  Thus,  annual  plants  are  re- 
presented by  the  sign  of  the  sun  0,  because  the  earth  re- 
volves around  that  star  in  a  year  ;  biennial  plants  by  the 
sign  of  Mars  &  ,  because  that  planet  performs  its  revolution 
about  the  sun  in  two  years  ;  perennial  plants  by  the  sign 
of  Jupiter  If,  because  Jupiter  is  nearly  twelve  years  in 
going  round  the  sun  ;  and  ligneous  plants  by  the  sign  of 
Saturn  ^  ,  whose  revolution  about  the  sun  is  accomplished 
in  about  twenty-nine  and  a  half  of  our  years. 

Now,  herbaceous  plants,  whether  annuals,  biennials,  or 
perennials,  like  the  trees  which  overshadow  them,  during 
the  vegetative  period  of  their  life,  ramify  and  branch ;  and 
there  is  the  same  continual  loss  of  vegetative  power  by  their 
branches  from  generation  to  generation  until  the  ramify- 
ing power  is  exhausted  ;  so  also  their  branches,  like  those 
of  trees,  are  only  repetitions  of  the  whole  plant  on  a  smaller 
scale.  Their  branches,  however,  differ  from  those  of  trees 
in  this  particular,  that  they  are  without  the  folia  tegmentia, 
or  covering-leaves,  and  have  therefore,  no  means  of  security 
organized  to  protect  them  during  the  winter  months.  To 
herbaceous  plants,  a  humbler  task  has  been  allotted  in  the 
household  of  Nature.  It  is  not  her  intention  to  preserve 
them,  or  consolidate  their  fabrics,  and  therefore  the  frosts 
of  winter  are  permitted  to  despoil  them  of  their  beauty, 
and  to  sweep  them  into  one  common  grave.  Their  branches 
develope  from  what  Henfey  has  very  properly  called  "open 
buds,"— one,  two,  and  sometimes  even  three  generations 
being  formed  during  the  same  season.  This  necessarily 
rapidly  exhausts  the  vegetative  powers  of  the  organism, 


AT  THE  PERIOD  OF  PUBERTY.  155 

calls  forth  more  speedily  the  reproductive  energies,  and 
brings  the  life  of  the  plant  to  an  early  close.  If  the  plant 
is  an  annual,  the  whole  organism  perishes  the  first  year; 
but  if  it  be  a  perennial,  the  part  of  the  organism  developed 
into  the  atmosphere  alone  dies :  for,  as  we  have  seen,  it  is 
without  the  means  of  protecting  itself  against  the  incle- 
mency of  the  weather ;  but  the  part  of  the  organism  still 
below  the  soil  is  protected,  and  lives  securely  sheltered  by 
its  friendly  covering  till  warm  weather  comes  again,  and 
then  from  that  still  living  underground  rhizome,  or  sub- 
terranean stem,  the  same  plant  springs  forth  in  the  renewed 
beauty  and  freshness  of  youth,  to  go  through  the  same 
brief  but  interesting  life-changes. 

It  is  otherwise  with  ligneous  plants,  such  as  shrubs  and 
forest  trees;  in  them  we  see  the.  working  of  the  same 
natural  laws,  but  in  a  somewhat  modified  manner,  and  on 
a  far  grander  scale.  It  is  the  intention  of  Nature,  in  the 
case  of  trees,  that  her  work  should  be  preserved,  and 
therefore  she  seeks  to  consolidate  their  fabric,  by  the  pre- 
servation, through  the  winter  months,  of  the  amount  of 
work  done  by  the  leaves  of  each  season.  In  trees,  under 
ordinary  circumstances,  only  one  generation  of  shoots  is 
produced  in  a  year,  and  these  shoots  do  not  branch  any 
further  than  the  formation  of  buds  in  the  axilla  of  their 
leaves.  These  buds,  or  vegetative  points,  are  always  more 
or  less  perfectly  formed  by  the  leaves  before  the  tree 
becomes  defoliated.  Like  the  original  seed  out  of  which 
the  whole  tree  has  been  gradually  developed,  they  indi- 
vidually contain,  in  an  embryonic  condition,  a  shoot  and 
leaves  precisely  like  the  first  year's  growth  from  the  seed. 

An  additional  set  of  organs,  usually  called  bud-scales, 
is  therefore  furnished  to  trees,  in  order  to  protect  their 
young  rudimentary  branches.  These  I  have  ventured  to 
call  in  this  work,  folia  tegmentia,  covering-leaves.  These 
leaves  are  assisted  in  their  protective  function  in  some 
instances,  by  a  covering  of  hard,  dry  varnish ;  and,  in  not 
a  few  cases,  they  have,  internally,  a  warm,  woolly  lining. 
Every  pore  is  thus  sealed  up,  and  the  atmosphere  of  winter 


156        ORGANIC  METAMORPHOSIS  OF  LEAVES 

carefully  excluded.  Under  such  circumstances,  the  nume- 
rous fully-formed  embryo-growths  of  the  next  year  on  the 
branches,  are  as  secure  under  the  covering-leaves  of  the 
bud,  as  was  the  solitary  embryonic  shoot  and  leaves  of  the 
first  year  under  the  wrappers  of  the  seed. 

To  the  tree,  as  well  as  to  the  annual,  winter  is  the  season 
of  rest ;  and  exhausted  vitality,  in  both  instances,  has  time 
given  for  recuperation.  In  annuals,  the  exhausted  vitality 
of  the  roots,  stem,  leaves,  flowers,  and  seed-vessel,  or  peri- 
carp, retires  into  the  seed;  and,  as  the  whole  plant  perishes, 
these  seeds  become  detached  from  it,  and  the  embryos 
which  they  inclose  develope  into  new  and  separate  plants 
on  the  soil.  But  in  trees  the  exhausted  vitality,  not  only 
of  the  leaves  but  of  the  new  layer  of  bark  and  wood-cells, 
which  they  have  constructed  (see  page  64),  retires  into  the 
buds,  from  which  the  new  plants  develope  on  the  return  of 
Spring.  Now,  although  there  are  cases  amongst  herbaceous 
plants,  as  for  example,  Lilium  bulbiferum,  in  which  axillary 
buds  are  formed  by  the  leaves  which  become  detached  from 
the  stem  and  grow  into  separate  and  independent  plants 
on  the  soil,  no  such  instance  occurs  in  trees.  The  buds  of 
trees,  formed  by  the  leaves  of  each  season,  do  not  separate 
from  the  tree ;  and  hence  the  new  plants  which  they  con- 
tain, remain  organically  united  with  each  other  about  a 
common  axis.  This  is  the  reason  why  the  vegetative  period 
in  trees  is  so  greatly  prolonged,  and  why  they  attain  such  a 
superior  altitude  and  spread.  They  rest  each  winter,  and 
through  perennial  associations  of  new  growths,  Nature 
carries  on  her  work  much  further  than  in  herbaceous 
plants.  Trees  are,  therefore,  composite  plants,  developed 
on  the  grandest  scale.  They  cover  a  far  greater  extent  of 
ground  than  herbaceous  plants.  Hence  their  giant  forms, 
when  gathered  together  into  communities,  are  most  strik- 
ingly seen  in  the  landscape  pictures  of  the  earth.  A  firmer, 
more  enduring  foundation  is  thus  laid,  in  the  organism  of 
trees,  for  the  exercise  of  the  reproductive  function ;  and 
when  once  the  state  of  puberty  is  reached,  they  are  neces- 
sarily covered  with  the  utmost  profusion  of  flowers,  and 


AT  THE  PERIOD  OF  PUBERTY.  157 

continue  to  flower  and  fruit  for  a  number  of  years,  without 
showing  any  signs  of  decay,  or  any  indications  whatever  of 
diminished  vitality. 

Each  species  of  tree,  however,  has  its  own  period  of  time 
during  which  it  vegetates,  so  as  to  gain  the  requisite 
strength  for  reproduction,  although  the  time  varies  with 
the  favorable  or  unfavorable  circumstances  in  which  the 
tree  may  be  placed,  such  as  suitable  soil,  and  exposure  to 
the  sun's  influence.  The  following  examples  will  illustrate 
the  difference  in  the  maximum  growth  and  age,  at  the 
time  of  flowering,  of  some  of  our  principal  trees: — 

Age  at  the 
Height  in  feet.  time  of  flowering. 

Norway  Spruce  (Abies  excelsa),.  .  .  80  to  120  50  years. 

Silver  Fir  (Abies  pectinacea],    .  .  .  80  to  100  30     " 

Elm  ( Ulmus  Americana], .         .  .  .  60  to  80  40     " 

Hornbeam  (Carpinus  Americana),  .  10  to  20  20     " 

Linden  (Tilia  Americana},         .  .  .  60  to  80  25  to  30  years. 

Maple  (Acer  rubrum],        .         .  .  .  15  to  20  25  to  30  " 

Birch  (Betula  alba], 30  to  40  10  to  12  " 

Chestnut  (Castanea  vesca],        .  .  .  60  to  80  25  to  30  " 

Beech  (Fagus  ferruginea],        .  .  .  60  to  70  40  to  50  " 

Larch  (Larix  Americana],         .  .  .  40  to  60  15  " 

Ash  (Fraxinus  pubescens],         .  .  .  50  to  60  25  " 

Hazel  (Corylus  Americana],      .  .  4  to  8  10  " 

Oak  (Quercus  alba], 40  to  60  50  to  60  " 

Hickory  ( Carya  alba],       .        .  .  .  40  to  50  25  to  30  " 

The  above  numbers  give  the  mean  ages  and  height  of 
these  trees  at  the  time  of  flowering  under  the  most  favor- 
able conditions,  especially  where  the  tree  has  plenty  of 
room  for  development,  and  the  soil  is  suitable. 

In  trees,  as  well  as  in  herbaceous  plants,  vegetation  is 
checked  by  reproduction.  Those  branches  which  are 
destined  to  exercise  this  function,  take,  at  this  time,  a 
short,  stunted  appearance,  growing  only  a  few  inches  or 
lines  in  length  in  the  same  time  that  they  formerly  grew  as 
many  feet ;  the  bud-traces  on  the  outside  of  the  branches 
(gemma  vestigia),  the  intervals  between,  which  mark  the 
annual  growths,  thus  become  crowded  together.  Ulti- 


158       ORGANIC  METAMORPHOSIS  OF  LEAVES 

mately,  the  branches  cease  to  elongate  altogether,  and  the 
leaf-buds  become  metamorphosed  into  flower-buds.  When 
these  flower-buds  unfold  themselves,  they  disclose  a  number 
of  leaves  totally  different  in  appearance  from  the  ordinary 
stem-leaves, — certain  changes  having  been  made  in  their 
structure  by  which  they  are  adapted  for  reproduction. 

As  in  the  flower,  the  vegetative  powers  of  the  leaves  are 
reduced  to  zero,  the  axis  of  the  floral  leaves  necessarily 
retains  its  rudimentary  condition,  and  no  intervals  of  stem 
form  between  them ;  they  therefore  remain  crowded 
together  into  a  sort  of  rosette,  analogous  to  that  which  is 
formed  by  the  ordinary  stem-leaves,  which  remain  in 
clusters  without  metamorphosis  when  the  branch  or  axis 
to  which  they  are  attached  continues  undeveloped. 

If  we  examine  the  leaves  which  have  been  thus  converted 
into  floral  organs,  we  shall  soon  be  satisfied  that,  despite 
of  the  various  forms  under  which  they  present  themselves, 
they  are  identical  with  the  ordinary  stem-leaves,  and  that 
the  alteration  in  their  appearance  is  the  necessary  conse- 
quence of  the  gradual  expiration  of  the  vegetative  powers 
of  the  branch  on  which  they  are  borne. 

In  many  plants, — those  with  axillary  inflorescences, 
as,  for  example,  the  moth  mullein  ( Verbascum  blattaria), 
where  the  primary  axis  remains  permanently  vegetative, 
and  where  the  buds  formed  in  the  axilla  of  the  upper 
leaves  are  metamorphosed  into  flower-buds,  the  passage  of 
the  ordinary  green  leaves  of  the  stem  into  bracts  or  floral 
leaves,  is  so  gradual,  that  it  is  impossible  to  distinguish  be- 
tween the  bract  and  the  leaf;  and,  in  like  manner,  the 
bracts  slide,  as  it  were,  almost  imperceptibly  into  the 
sepals  or  leaves  of  the  calyx.  In  such  cases,  there  is  no 
difficulty  in  verifying  the  fact,  that  leaf,  bract,  and  sepal,  are 
one  and  the  same  organ  ;  for  we  plainly  see  how  the  leaves 
diminish  in  size  as  we  pass  from  the  vegetative  to  the  re- 
productive region,  and  the  successive  steps  made  in  the 
metamorphoses  of  the  ordinary  green  leaves  of  the  stem 
into  the  sepals  or  leaves  of  the  calyx  or  flower-cup. 

But  in  cases  where  the  inflorescence  is  terminal,  that  is 


AT  THE  PERIOD  OF  PUBERTY.  159 

to  say,  where  the  development  of  the  main  stem  and 
branches  of  the  plant  are  suddenly  arrested  by  the  meta- 
morphosis of  the  leaf-buds  at  their  summit  into  flower- 
buds,  no  such  gradual  metamorphosis  in  the  leaves  is  to 
be  seen ;  and  this  makes  the  task  of  identifying  the  flower- 
leaves  with  the  ordinary  green  leaves  of  the  stem  far  more 
diflicult.  Yet  even  here  we  are  not  without  indications  of 
that  common  family  relationship  which  subsists  amongst 
all  the  leaf-organs.  There  is  the  same  rudimentary,  condi- 
tion of  the  floral  axis  which  we  observe  amongst  the  com- 
mon green  leaf-clusters  on  the  branchlets  when  their 
vegetative  powers  are  enfeebled ;  the  same  spiral  arrange- 
ment ;  for,  if  we  consider  the  leaves  of  the  flower  carefully, 
we  shall  find  that  they  alternate  with  each  other,  the  sepals 
or  leaves  of  the  calyx  occupying  an  intermediate  position 
between  the  petals.  We  observe,  also,  that  these  floral 
leaves  deviate  more  widely  from  the  ordinary  type  of  stem- 
leaf,  in  proportion  as  they  are  situated  toward  the  superior 
portion  of  the  axis ;  this  change  of  structure  increasing  as 
the  vegetative  forces  become  enfeebled.  Thus,  whilst  the 
sepals  or  leaves  of  the  calyx  retain  almost  all  the  characters 
of  leaves,  these  characters  are  less  apparent  in  the  petals 
and  stamens,  until  finally,  in  the  carpels,  or  pistils,  which 

FIG.  1. 


The  different  parts  of  a  flower :  «,  the  calyx ;  6,  the  corolla ;  c,  the 
stamens ;  d,  the  pistils. 

occupy  the  summit  of  the  axis,  the  departure  from  the 
ordinary  leaf-type  is  the  widest. 

Transitional  forms,  between  sepals  and  petals,  and  be- 


160        ORGANIC  METAMORPHOSIS  OF  LEAVES 

tween  petals  and  stamens,  may  be  obtained  in  many 
flowers,  especially  in  the  common  spatterdock  of  the 
pools  (Nuphar  advena),  and  the  white  water  lily  (NympJicea 
alba).  These  terms  may  furnish  the  botanist  with  conve- 
nient artificial  distinctions,  which  are  very  available  in 
botanical  diagnosis  ;  but  absolute  boundaries  between 
sepals,  petals,  stamens,  and  pistils,  do  not  exist  in  Nature ; 
there  is  the  utmost  latitude  and  freedom  of  form,  and  we 
seek  in  vain  to  confine  her  in  the  fetters  of  an  artificial 
nomenclature. 

Examine  the  flowers  of  the  yellow  lily  or  spatterdock, 
and  you  will  find  that  the  sepals  or  leaves  of  the  calyx, 
although  green  externally,  are  yellow  internally,  and  thus 
approximate  in  appearance  to  the  petals ;  that  the  petals, 
which  are  arranged  in  a  closely-approximated  spiral, 
gradually  become  smaller  as  they  are  more  centrally  situ- 
ated ;  for  the  anthers  become  visible  on  their  upper  side, 
and  the  lower  portion  of  the  petal  contracts  into  a  filament. 
The  curious  pollen-bearing  leaves,  called  stamens,  are 
thus  identified  as  metamorphosed  petals ;  for  such  tran- 
sitional forms  remove  every  shadow  of  doubt  from  the 
mind. 

In  the  pistil  or  central  organ  of  the  flower,  there  appears 
to  be  the  greatest  departure  from  the  primitive  leaf-type  ; 
yet  it  is  not  difficult  to  trace  it  even  in  this  instance.  The 
analogy  of  the  pistil  to  the  leaves  is  easily  demonstrated 
in  the  flower  of  the  Iris,  the  pistils  of  which  are  petaloid, 
or  petal-like.  In  general,  the  pistil  is  nothing  but  a  leaf 
which  remains  folded  on  its  midrib,  the  two  sides  of  the 
lamina  continuing  together  instead  of  separating,  as  in 
ordinary  cases.  Whilst  in  this  condition,  the  margins  of 
the  lamina  anastomose,  or  grow  together,  and  thus  form  a 
placenta  or  point  of  attachment  for  the  ovules  in  its  inte- 
rior. The  folded  condition  of  the  leaf  in  the  young  state 
may  be  observed  in  the  leaves  of  the  Cherry  tree  and  com- 
mon Garden  Rose.  Examples,  too,  are  not  uncommon  of 
the  development  of  stunted  green  leaves  in  the  centre  of 
the  flower,  in  the  place  of  the  pistils,  as  in  the  Double 


AT  THE  PERIOD  OF  PUBERTY.  161 

Cherry  and  Garden  Rose;  although,  as  a  general  rule, 
when  once  the  development  of  the  axis  has  reached  its 
limit  in  flowers,  there  is  no  recurrence  again  of  the  vege- 
tative period. 

And  here  it  is  necessary  to  appreciate  fully  the  relative 
physiological  rank  or  importance  of  the  floral  organs.  To 
understand  this,  we  must  study  not  only  the  subordina- 
tion of  function  which  subsists  amongst  the  floral  organs, 
but  also  their  presence  or  absence  in  the  greater  number 
of  flowers ;  for  it  may  be  very  safely  concluded  that  those 
floral  organs  which  are  present  the  most  frequently  in 
flowers,  and  the  last  to  disappear,  are  in  reality  the  most 
necessary  to  the  exercise  of  the  reproductive  function. 

The  popular  idea  of  a  flower  is  usually  associated  with 
something  showy  and  colored,  and  hence  the  flowers  of 
the  Judas  Tree  (Cercis  Canadenms),  the  Dogwood  (Cornus 
Florida),  and  the  Tulip  Tree  (Liriodendron  tulipifera),  are 
easily  recognized ;  but  not  the  flowers  of  the  Larch,  Cedar, 
or  Pine.  The  flowers  of  these  trees  take  a  lower  form  of 
development,  and  require  the  searching  eye  of  the  Natu- 
ralist to  detect  them.  Such  humble  forms  of  floral  struc- 
ture are,  in  reality,  the  most  attractive  and  interesting  to 
the  philosophical  Botanist.  He  can  admire  the  rich  colors 
of  a  Camelia  or  Geranium,  but  there  is  something  quite 
as  pleasing  when  he  recognizes  simplicity  of  structure, 
where  calyx  and  corolla  have  disappeared,  and  nothing 
remains  but  the  stamens  and  pistils,  the  parts  absolutely 
necessary  to  reproduction.  These  are  the  most  highly 
metamorphosed  of  the  leaf-organs  of  the  plant,  to  which 
all  the  others  are  simply  accessory.  Propagation  cannot 
be  effected  without  them,  hence  they  are  the  very  last  to 
disappear  from  the  organism,  in  descending  from  the  higher 
to  the  lower  orders  of  the  Phanerogamia  or  flowering 
plants ;  and  wherever  they  are  present,  there  is  a  true 
flower.  Stamens  and  pistils  may  be  distinctly  seen,  at 
certain  seasons  of  the  year,  in  grasses,  sedges,  and  rushes, 
which  are  therefore  very  properly  regarded  by  Botanists 
as  flowering  plants,  notwithstanding  their  sombre  appear- 

12 


162  ORGANIC   METAMORPHOSIS   OF  LEAVES 

ance,  the  term  being  quite  as  applicable  to  them  as  to  a 
rose  or  lily.  Brilliant  and  highly-colored  floral  envelopes 
must  be  regarded  as  characteristic  of  the  more  highly 
organized  flowers.  These  gradually  lose  their  bright  at- 
tractions, as  we  descend  in  Nature,  until  they  become 
green  and  inconspicuous,  as  in  Nettles,  and  in  the  Pigweed 
(AmarantJius  hybridus) ;  and,  finally,  their  place  is  sup- 
plied by  rudimentary  leaves  or  bracts,  as  in  Grasses  and 
Birch  trees ;  or  they  are  suppressed  altogether,  as  in  the 
Lizard's  Tail  (Saururm  cernuous)  and  "Willow. 

A  few  brief  remarks  may  now  be  made  in  reference 
more  immediately  to  the  reproductive  functions  exercised 
by  the  stamens  and  pistils.  Let  us  take,  as  an  example,  the 
Apple  tree.  This  tree  is  beautiful  in  spring,  when  covered 
with  blossoms,  and  still  more  attractive  in  autumn,  when 
loaded  with  fruit ;  and  it  is  desirable,  in  this  place,  to  say 
something  about  the  way  in  which  both  the  flowers  and 
fruit  are  formed. 

When  the  period  of  puberty  arrives,  the  branches  of  this 
tree  cease  to  elongate,  and  their  terminal  buds  assume  a 
swollen  appearance,  and  give  birth  to  a  cluster  of  little 
twigs,  or  stalks,  each  supporting  a  flower-bud.  These 
flower-buds  unfold  themselves  about  the  same  time  as  the 
regular  leaf-buds ;  but  the  leaves  which  they  contain  do 
not  separate  like  those  developed  by  the  leaf-buds ;  on  the 
contrary,  they  remain  crowded  together  in  clusters  at  the 
summit  of  each  flower-stalk,  or  peduncle. 

If  we  examine  the  leaves  of  the  flower  which  have  been 
thus  crowded  together,  we  shall  be  struck  with  admiration 
at  the  simplicity  and  beauty  of  the  means  which  Nature 
has  adopted  to  effect  her  object.  The  outer  leaves  of  this 
floral  cluster,  although  greatly  diminished  in  size,  still  re- 
tain their  green  hue,  and  form  a  sort  of  cup-like  envelope, 
called,  for  that  reason,  by  Botanists,  the  calyx.  Situated 
immediately  next  are  the  leaves  of  the  corolla,  or  garland, 
so  called  on  account  of  their  ornamental  appearance. 
These  are  the  most  showy  leaves  in  each  set ;  they  are 
slightly  tinged  with  pink,  and  of  a  dazzling  whiteness. 


AT  THE  PERIOD  OF  PUBERTY.  163 

Now  Apple  trees  are  hermaphrodite,  that  is  to  say,  they 
are  self-impregnating,  the  male  and  female  organs  being 
situated  in  the  same  flowers.  These  organs  are  called,  by 
Botanists,  stamens  and  pistils,  and  we  must  look  for  them 
immediately  within  the  apple-blossom,  or  corolla.  The 
stamens,  or  male  sexual  organs,  are  very  numerous,  and 
surround  the  pistils  or  female  sexual  organs.  All  these 
organs  must  be  regarded  as  altered  stem-leaves,  beautifully 
organized  with  reference  to  the  new  and  important  func- 
tions which  they  have  to  perform.  In  the  stamen,  the  stalk 
of  the  leaf  is  converted  into  a  filament,  and  the  dilated  por- 
tion, or  blade,  contracted  into  a  little  club-like  body,  called 
an  anther.  This  will  be  better  understood  by  referring  to 

Fig.  2. 


Fig.  2,  which  represents  one  of  the  stamens  of  the  Apple 
tree.  The  filament  is  marked  #,  and  the  anther  6,  which 
is  seen  discharging  its  fecundating  matter,  or  pollen.  It  is 
because  the  anther  prepares  and  discharges  the  pollen,  that 
we  call  it  the  male  sexual  organ  of  a  flower.  The  female 
sexual  organ,  or  pistils,  occupy  the  central  portion  of  the 
flower.  They  are  so  called  because  they  receive  the  im- 
pregnating matter,  or  pollen,  a  process  which,  in  plants,  is 
indispensable  to  reproduction.  The  reader  will  form  a 
very  good  idea  of  a  pistil,  by  looking  for  a  few  moments 
at  Fig.  3,  which  shows  one  in  section,  or  cut  open.  O  is 
the  stigma,  or  summit,  of  the  pistil,  to  which  the  pollen 
adheres  when  fertilization  takes  place ;  b  is  the  style  of  the 
pistil ;  a  the  ovary,  containing  the  young  ovules,  which  are 


164        ORGANIC  METAMORPHOSIS  OF  LEAVES 

pointed  out  by  the  letter  d.     The  pistils  of  the  apple-blos- 
som are  somewhat  different  from  the  one  figured  here. 


Fig.  3. 


There  are  usually  five  pistils,  with  free  styles  and  stigmas ; 
the  ovaries  are,  however,  united;  each  contains  two  ovules, 
surrounded  by  cartilaginous  walls,  forming  what  is  called 
the  core  of  the  apple,  and  the  whole  is  inclosed  in  the  fleshy 
tube  of  the  calyx,  which,  by  subsequent  enlargement,  be- 
comes the  fruit. 

It  is  not  the  beauty  and  fragrance  of  apple-blossoms,  so 
much  as  the  plan  on  which  they  are  constructed,  which  is 
the  chief  point  of  attraction  about  them.  This  terminal 
rosette  of  sweet-scented,  ornamental  leaves,  is,  in  reality, 
nothing  but  the  ordinary  green  leaves  of  the  stem,  whose 
organization  has  been  altered,  and  is  most  admirably 
adapted  to  the  discharge  of  a  new  and  important  function, 
that  of  reproduction.  For  the  mind  is  necessarily  filled 
with  admiration  at  that  matchless  skill  which  thus,  by  a 
modification  in  the  same  typical  organ,  the  leaf,  adapts  it 
to  the  exercise  of  the  reproductive  functions.  "  The  con- 
traction of  a  branch  and  its  leaves  forms  a  flower;  the  dis- 
integration of  the  internal  tissue  of  a  petal  forms  pollen  ; 
the  folding  inwards  of  a  leaf  constitutes  a  pistil;  and, 
finally,  the  gorging  of  the  pistil  with  a  fluid,  with  which 
it  cannot  part,  produces  a  fruit."* 

The  function  exercised  by  the  two  outer  sets  of  floral 

*  Lindley's  "  Introduction  to  Botany." 


AT  THE  PEKIOD  OP  PUBEKTY. 


165 


leaves  is  purely  a  protective  one,  and  they  are  placed  in 
close  proximity  to  the  stamens,  in  order  that  they  may  fold 
over  them,  and  thus  shelter  them  from  the  falling  rain  and 
the  dews  of  night.  All  must  have  noticed  this  folding-up 
of  the  calyx  and  corolla  in  wet  weather,  or  at  sunset.  The 
leaves  of  the  calyx,  and  especially  the  petals  of  the  corolla, 
also  aid  in  the  preparation  of  the  sap  for  the  stamens,  and 

Fig.  4. 


Longitudinal  section  of  the  pistil  of  Hdianthum  denticulatum,  showing 
the  ovules  in  the  interior  of  the  ovary,  attached  to  the  placenta  by  means 
of  the  funiculus,  or  vegetable  umbilicus ;_  b,  style  j  c,  stigma ;  a,  pollen 
granules,  the  tubes  of  which  have  descended  the  style,  and  entered  the 
micropyle  of  the  ovules. — SCHLEIDEU. 

help  to  form  that  saccharine  matter  which  the  bee  collects 
so  industriously,  and  which  nourishes  the  stamens  and 
pistils. 


166        ORGANIC  METAMORPHOSIS  OF  LEAVES 

The  function  of  the  stamens  and  pistils  is  purely  repro- 
ductive. At  first  the  anthers  are  unruptured,  moist,  and 
closed ;  but,  as  they  approach  maturity,  they  become  dry, 
open  their  cells,  and  discharge  their  pollen  on  the  stigmatic 
surface  of  the  pistil,  which,  about  this  time,  becomes  be- 
dewed with  a  clammy  fluid,  which  serves  to  retain  the  pol- 
len. The  grains  of  pollen  absorb  the  moisture  of  the  stigma 
and  emit  delicate  tubes,  which  penetrate  the  loose  cellular 
tissue  of  the  style,  and  act  as  a  conduit  of  the  fecundating 
matter  of  the  pollen  grains  to  the  ovules,  which  these  tubes 
finally  enter  by  means  of  their  micropyle  (Greek  i^xpo^ 
little,  and  ™>fy,  gate).  The  ovules,  having  received  the  im- 
pregnating matter,  the  embryos,  or  miniature  plants,  begin 
to  form  in  them,  and  are  gradually  transformed  into  seed. 

The  sap  is  now  drawn  to  the  forming  fruit,  away  from 
the  petals  and  stamens,  which  fade  and  fall  off,  having 
fulfilled  their  important  but  ephemeral  functions.  The 
stigmas  and  styles  of  the  pistils  being  now  useless  to  the 
plant,  disappear  equally  with  the  other  parts.  The  ovaries 
alone  remain  to  aid  in  the  ripening  of  the  seed  contained 
within  their  cavities. 

The  sap  elaborated  in  the  ordinary  green  leaves  of  the 
stem,  passes  through  the  peduncle,  or  what  was  formerly 
the  flower-stalk,  into  the  fleshy  tube  of  the  calyx,  by  which 
it  is  retained,  and  which  now  gradually  enlarges  and  con- 
tinues to  increase  in  size  as  long  as  the  sap  continues  to 
enter  it.  The  gorged  and  swollen  cellular  tissue  or  sub- 
stance of  the  apple  is  formed  from  this  sap  about  the 
cartilaginous  walls  of  the  ovaries.  The  surface  of  the 
apple,  whilst  green,  acts  like  an  ordinary  green  stem-leaf 
on  the  atmosphere,  absorbing  carbonic  acid  gas,  and  giving 
out  oxygen.  As  it  slowly  loses  its  green  color,  and  assumes 
a  ripe  and  ruddy  appearance,  it  ceases  to  do  this,  absorbing 
the  oxygen  instead  of  giving  it  out.  At  maturity  the  stalk 
ceases  to  afford  any  further  passage  for  the  fluids,  and  be- 
comes finally  unequal  to  the  task  of  supporting  the  fruit, 
so  that  it  falls  to  the  ground.  Here  it  lies,  unless  eaten  by 
cattle,  till  it  decays.  On  the  approach  of  Spring,  the  seeds 


AT   THE    PERIOD    OF   PUBERTY.  167 

contained  within  the  ovaries,  stimulated  into  life  by  the 
heat,  put  forth  roots  in  the  mass  of  nourishing,  decaying 
matter  which  surrounds  them,  and  which  was  provided 
by  Nature  for  this  very  purpose,  and  develope  into  new 
plants ;  which,  should  circumstances  favor  their  growth, 
pass  again  through  the  same  life-changes  as  the  parent 
tree  on  which  they  originated. 

Such  are  the  progressive  phenomena  in  the  growth  not 
only  of  the  Apple  tree,  but  of  all  the  trees  which  are 
natives  of  northern  climates,  modified,  of  course,  by  pecu- 
liarities of  structure  and  constitution ;  but  all  grow  in  a 
similar  manner, — their  forms  gradually  unfolding  from  the 
seed,  according  to  the  same  laws. 

The  tree  exhibits  a  picture  of  the  whole  of  Nature,  and 
of  the  way  in  which  Nature  works.  In  its  building  up,  it 
shows  that  the  grand  is  always  preceded  by  the  apparently 
insignificant,  and  complexity  of  structure  by  extreme 
organic  simplicity.  Cell  and  fibre,  leaf-scale  and  leaf, 
shoot,  branchlet,  and  branch,  all  preceded  each  other,  and 
their  united  labors  produced  the  blossom  and  fruit,  the 
highest,  the  culminating  point  of  organic  perfection  and 
metamorphosis.  So  that  no  part  of  the  tree  is  insignifi- 
cant, and  all  its  organs  are  mutually  dependent  on  each 
other ;  for  is  there  not  a  centralization  of  their  forces,  a 
unity  of  their  organic  action,  in  the  labors  necessary  to 
form  the  blossom  and  the  fruit  ? 

In  the  early  part  of  this  chapter,  I  spoke  somewhat 
enthusiastically  of  a  little,  apparently  insignificant,  Spring 
flower,  popularly  called  Whitlow  Grass  (Drdba  verna\  whose 
blossoms  cover  the  ground,  in  the  utmost  profusion,  in  the 
months  of  March  and  April.  Now,  vulgarly  speaking, 
this  plant  is  nothing  but  a  "common  weed."  Will  you 
believe,  reader,  that  I  have  watched  this  plant,  through  all 
the  phases  of  its  brief  life-history,  for  several  years,  with 
an  interest  ever  on  the  increase  !  Let  me  tell  you  a  few  of 
the  thoughts  which  it  has  suggested.  I  have  marked  the 
care  with  which  Nature  preserves  its  germs,  and  the  con- 
stancy with  which  it  appears  on  the  earth's  surface  at  the 


168        ORGANIC  METAMORPHOSIS  OF  LEAVES. 

appointed  time.  Surely  this  flower,  so  humble,  unattrac- 
tive, and  short-lived,  like  the  leaf-scales  of  a  tree,  has  its 
place  assigned  in  the  organism  of  the  universe,  which 
would  probably  be  no  unimportant  one,  if  the  wondrous 
mechanism  of  life  were  only  better  understood.  And  it  is 
the  same  with  the  every  individual  of  all  that  troop  of 
bright  and  smiling  ones  with  which  the  earth  is  annually 
garlanded,  especially  when,  like  my  welcome  little  friend, 
Draba  verna,  they  decorate  the  earth  in  countless  numbers. 
Eegarded  as  a  part  of  the  organism  of  living  Nature,  such 
plants  lose  their  insignificance;  and  there  is  no  genus, 
however  brief  its  life-span  and  unattractive  its  appearance, 
which  is  beneath  the  consideration  of  Naturalists. 

Nor  is  the  above  lesson  without  its  moral.  What  shall 
be  said  of  those  who  despise  the  honest  and  industrious 
man,  because  he  occupies  an  inferior  position  in  society  ? 
Such  conduct  is  certainly  not  sanctioned  by  Nature,  or  her 
teachings,  when  we  see  what  is  lowly  and  apparently  insig- 
nificant at  the  foundation  of  her  grandest  operations. 


CHAPTER    X 

CONTAINS  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  TREES  REMARKABLE  FOR  THEIR 
GIGANTIC  GROWTH  AND  GREAT  AGE,  FOUND  IN  DIFFERENT 
PARTS  OF  THE  WORLD. 

EVERY  country  possesses  these  vegetable  giants,  and  this, 
too,  from  the  most  different  groups  of  trees.  India  has  its 
Banyan ;  Africa,  its  Baobab ;  Germany,  its  Linden ;  Eng- 
land, its  ancient  Oaks  and  Yews;  and  California,  its  mag- 
nificent mammoth  trees,  which  belong  to  the  natural  order 
Coniferse,  and  which  are  upwards  of  three  hundred  feet  in 
height. 

A  Chestnut  tree  is  now  growing  on  the  side  of  Mount 
Etna,  in  Sicily,  the  stem  of  which  is  hollow,  and  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  feet  in  circumference.  It  consists,  in 
reality,  of  several  stems,  which  have  grown  together  at 
their  base,  and  whose  crowns  are  concealed  within  one 
another.  It  is  called  by  the  natives,  "  Castagna  di  cento 
cavalla ;"  because  a  hundred  horsemen  can  find  shelter  in 
its  interior.  The  age  of  this  tree  is  unknown,  but  its  im- 
mense size  proves  its  great  antiquity.  It  is  indeed  a  noble 
tree,  which  has  outlived  and  sheltered  successive  genera- 
tions. 

By  Neustadt,  in  the  kingdom  of  Wurtemberg,  in  Ger- 
many, stands  a  Linden  tree,  which  must  have  been  very 
old  in  1229 ;  for  an  old  tradition  says  that  the  city,  which 
formerly  was  called  Helmbundt,  was  destroyed  in  1226, 
and  was  again  rebuilt  in  1229,  "near  the  Great  Linden." 
This  Linden  was  so  remarkable  and  well  known,  that  for 
centuries  the  Germans  were  accustomed  to  speak  of  Neu- 


170  DESCRIPTION   OF 

stadt  as  the  city  "  near  the  Great  Linden."  In  a  poem 
written  in  1408,  it  is  described  as  growing  near  the  gate  of 
the  city,  its  branches  being  supported  by  sixty-seven  pil- 
lars. In  the  year  1664,  there  were  eighty-two,  and  in 
1832,  one  hundred  and  six  of  them.  They  were  built  of 
stone,  and  erected  just  as  they  were  required,  in  accordance 
with  the  increase  in  the  horizontal  growth  of  the  branches. 
The  oldest  inscriptions  on  these  pillars  bear  the  respective 
dates  of  1558,  1562,  and  1583,  with  the  name  and  escut- 
cheons of  those  who  erected  them.  In  the  year  1832,  the 
stem  of  this  tree  was,  at  a  height  of  six  feet  above  the 
ground,  thirty-seven  feet  six  inches  in  circumference.  It 
must,  therefore,  have  been  from  seven  hundred  and  fifty  to 
eight  hundred  years  old,  at  the  lowest  estimate.  Since 
1832,  it  has  suffered  so  much  by  tempests,  that  it  is  now 
almost,  comparatively  speaking,  a  complete  ruin. 

Walnut  trees,  also,  occasionally  reach  a  great  age. 
There  is  one  in  the  Baidar  Valley,  near  Balaklava,  in  the 
Crimea,  which  is  at  least  a  thousand  years  old.  It  yields 
annually  from  eighty  thousand  to  one  hundred  thousand 
nuts,  and  belongs  to  five  Tartar  families,  who  share  its 
produce  peacefully  amongst  themselves. 

Cedars  are  yet  found  on  Mount  Lebanon,  in  Syria,  sup- 
posed to  be  the  remains  of  the  forest  which  furnished 
Solomon  with  timber  for  the  Jewish  Temple,  three  thou- 
sand years  ago.  They  were  examined  by  Belonius  in  1550, 
who  found  them  twenty-eight  in  number.  In  1696,  Maun- 
drell  counted  only  sixteen ;  and  in  1818,  according  to  Dr. 
Richardson,  there  were  still  seven  of  them  left.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  as  to  the  great  age  of  these  trees.  Maundrell 
mentions  the  size  of  one  of  them,  which  was  thirty  feet 
six  inches  in  circumference,  and  one  hundred  and  seven- 
teen feet  in  the  spread  of  its  boughs. 

There  are  Oaks  now  growing  in  England,  which  were 
planted  before  the  time  of  the  Norman  conquest,  in  1066, 
and  which  are  therefore  more  than  eight  hundred  years  old. 

The  Yew  trees  (Taxus  baccata)  are  still  older.  One  of 
these  trees,  located  at  Fountain's  Abbey,  near  Kipon,  in 


REMARKABLE   FOREST   TREES.  171 

Yorkshire,  was  examined  by  Pennant,  in  1770,  and  was 
then  more  than  twelve  hundred  years  old ;  and  another,  in 
the  churchyard  of  Braburn,  in  Kent,  according  to  the 
measurement  of  Evelyn,  in  1660,  had  then  attained  an 
age  of  two  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eighty  years,  and 
consequently  is  now  more  than  three  thousand  years  old. 

The  so-called  American  Cypress  (Taxodium  distichum), 
found  in  Florida,  in  southern  Louisiana,  and  in  Mexico, 
has  not  unfrequently,  at  a  height  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty  feet  above  the  ground,  a  circumference  of  forty 
feet,  and  must,  therefore,  be  very  old.  A  fine  specimen  of 
this  tree  now  grows  in  the  garden  of  Chapultepec,  Mexico, 
which  was  of  an  immense  size  at  the  time  of  the  conquest 
of  Mexico  by  the  Spaniards,  in  1520,  and  was  then  known 
as  Montezuma's  Cypress  ;  and  in  the  province  of  Oaxaca, 
in  the  same  country,  still  stands  the  same  Cypress  which 
sheltered  the  troops  of  Ferdinando  Cortez.  These  trees 
are  at  least  four  thousand  years  old ;  in  fact,  De  Candolle 
considers  them  to  be  much  older. 

But  by  far  the  most  remarkable  trees  in  the  world  are 
found  in  California.  The  Sequoia  gigantea,  popularly 
known  in  the  district  where  it  grows  as  the  "  Mammoth 
Washington  Tree,"  was  first  discovered  by  the  English 
traveller  and  Naturalist,  Lob,  on  the  Sierra  Nevada,  at  an 
elevation  of  five  thousand  feet,  and  near  the  source  of  the 
rivers  Stanislaus  and  San  Antonio.  These  trees  belong  to 
the  Natural  Order  Coniferce,  or  the  Pine  family,  and  grow 
two  hundred  and  fifty  and  even  four  hundred  feet  in 
height.  The  bark,  which  is  of  a  cinnamon  color,  is  from 
twelve  to  eighteen  inches  thick;  the  wood  reddish,  but 
soft  and  light ;  and  the  stem  is  from  ten  to  twenty  feet  in 
diameter.  The  branches  grow  almost  horizontally  from 
the  stem ;  their  foliage  resembles  that  of  the  Cypress;  yet, 
notwithstanding  the  monstrous  size  of  these  trees,  their 
cones  are  only  two  inches  and  a  half  in  length,  resembling 
those  of  the  Weymouth  Pine  (Pinus  strobus) ;  whilst  the 
Auracauria,  or  South  American  Pine,  although  far  infe- 


172  DESCRIPTION   OF 

rior  in  size  to  the  Sequoia,  produces  cones  of  the  form  and 
magnitude  of  a  child's  head. 

The  Sequoias  stand  together  in  groups  on  a  black,  fruitful 
soil,  which  is  watered  by  a  brook.  The  miners  have  given 
some  of  them  their  especial  consideration.  One  has  been 
called  "  The  Miner's  Cabin."  It  is  a  hollow  tree,  about 
three  hundred  feet  in  height, — the  excavation  being  seven- 
teen feet  in  breadth,  and  nearly  fifty  feet  in  circumference. 
"  The  Three  Sisters"  have  all  sprung  from  the  same  root. 
"  The  Old  Bachelor,"  worried  by  storms,  leads  a  solitary 
life.  "  The  Family"  consists  of  a  group  of  trees,  two  large 
ones, — "The  Parents," — and  twenty-four  small  ones, — 
"The  Children."  "The  Riding  School"  is  an  immense 
tree,  which  has  been  overturned  by  a  storm,  in  the  hollow 
stem  of  which  a  man  can  ride  on  horseback  for  a  distance 
of  seventy-five  feet. 

In  standing  before  these  giant  forms  of  the  forest,  we 
naturally  try  to  calculate  the  time  which  was  necessary  to 
bring  together  such  vast  masses  of  vegetable  matter,  and 
then  think  of  our  own  short  lives  and  diminutiveness. 
Judging  from  their  rings,  these  trees  are  at  least  from  two 
to  three  thousand  years  old.  The  following  description  of 
one  of  them,  recently  felled  for  timber,  is  taken  from  a 
work  published  by  the  United  States  Government.  It  will 
be  read  with  interest,  as  it  furnishes  reliable  information : — 

"  As  considerable  discussion  has  already  been  had  with 
regard  to  the  age  of  this  tree,"  says  Dr.  Bigelow,  "I  may 
state  that  when  I  visited  it  in  May  last,  at  a  section  of  it, 
eighteen  feet  from  the  stump,  it  was  fourteen  and  a  half 
feet  in  diameter.  As  the  diminution  of  the  annual  rings 
of  growth,  from  the  heart  or  centre  to  the  circumference, 
or  "sap-wood,  appeared  pretty  regular,  I  placed  my  hand 
midway,  roughly  measuring  six  inches,  and  carefully 
counted  the  rings  on  that  space,  which  numbered  one 
hundred  and  thirty,  making  the  tree  1885  years  old. 

"  A  verbal  or  written  description  of  this  tree,  however 
accurate,  cannot  give  one  an  adequate  idea  of  its  dimen- 
sions. It  required  thirty-one  of  my  paces,  of  three  feet 


REMARKABLE  FOREST  TREES.  173 

each,  to  measure  thus  rudely  its  circumference  at  the 
stump.  The  only  way  it  could  be  felled,  was  by  boring 
repeatedly  with  pump  augers.  It  required  five  men, 
twenty-two  days,  to  perform  the  operation.  After  they 
had  succeeded  in  severing  it  at  the  stump,  the  shoulders 
were  so  broad,  and  the  tree  so  perfectly  equipoised,  that  it 
took  the  same  five  men  two  days  in  driving  wedges  with 
a  battering-ram,  on  one  side  of  the  cut,  to  throw  it  out  of 
its  equilibrium  sufficiently  to  make  it  fall.  The  mere  fell- 
ing of  the  tree,  at  California  prices  for  wages,  cost  the  sum 
of  $550. 

"  A  short  distance  from  this  tree  was  another  of  larger 
dimensions,  which,  apparently,  had  been  overthrown  by 
accident,  some  forty  or  fifty  years  ago.  It  was  hollow  for 
some  distance  ;  and,  when  I.  was  there,  quite  a  rivulet  was 
running  through  its  cavity.  The  trunk  was  three  hundred 
feet  in  length ;  the  top  broken  off,  and  by  some  agency 
(probably  fire),  was  destroyed.  At  the  distance  of  three 
hundred  feet  from  the  butt,  the  trunk  was  forty  feet  in 
circumference,  or  more  than  twelve  feet  in  diameter. 
Fragments  of  the  same  kind  of  tree,  which  had  apparently 
been  exposed  to  the  vicissitudes  of  climate  and  the  weather 
the  same  length  of  time,  and  supposed  to  be  from  the  indi- 
vidual tree  that  lies  prostrate,  are  to  be  found  projected 
in  a  line  with  the  main  body,  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
from  the  top  ;  proving  to  a  degree  of  moral  certainty,  that 
the  tree,  when  standing  alive,  must  have  attained  the 
height  of  four  hundred  and  fifty  or  five  hundred  feet !  At 
the  butt  it  is  one  hundred  and  ten  feet  in  circumference, 
or  about  thirty-six  feet  in  diameter. 

"  These  mammoth  trees,  by  their  stately  and  majestic 
bearing,  striking  the  beholder  with  awe  and  wonder,  and 
cause  him  almost  involuntarily  to  bow  before  them  as  the 
kings  of  the  forest.  Their  whole  number  does  not  exceed 
five  hundred,  and  all  are  comprised  within  an  area  of  about 
fifty  acres.  Only  eighty  or  ninety  of  them  are  of  gigantic 
size.  Their  extremely  limited  locality  and  number,  forcibly 
impress  the  traveller  with  the  belief  that  the  species  will 


174  DESCRIPTION   OF 

soon  be  extinct,  as  is  further  evinced  by  their  slow  repro- 
duction. Indeed,  these  giants  of  the  forest  are  so  marked 
in  their  rusty  habits  from  their  present  associates,  that  we 
can  hardly  view  them  in  their  present  relations,  except  as 
links  connecting  us  with  ages  so  long  past,  that  they  seem 
but  reminiscences  of  an  eternal  bygone.  They  seem  to 
require  but  the  process  of  petrifaction  to  establish  a  com- 
plete paleontological  era."* 

But  the  Baobab  (Adansonia  digitata}  surpasses  even  the 
trees  of  California  in  grandeur  and  antiquity.  It  is  the 
oldest  vegetable  monument  on  earth.  Its  stem  is  only 
from  ten  to  twelve  fee?in  height,  but  of  immense  propor- 
tions, for  it  is  thirty-four  feet  in  diameter.  This  colossal 
circumference  is  an  absolute  necessity;  because,  from  its 
summit  it  unfolds  so  vast  a  leaf-crown,  that  it  can  only  be 
supported  on  such  a  massive  foundation.  The  main  branch 
rises  perpendicularly  to  a  height  of  sixty  feet,  and  from  it 
branches  extend  themselves  to  a  distance  of  from  fifty  to 
sixty  feet  horizontally  on  all  sides  ;  so  that  they  form  a 
noble  leaf-crown,  whose  diameter  is  more  than  one  hundred 
and  sixty  feet,  giving  to  a  single  tree  the  appearance  of  a 
whole  forest.  The  leaves  of  the  Baobab  are  palmate,  and 
forcibly  remind  us  of  the  Horse-Chestnut, — being  divided 
to  the  leaf-stalk.  It  is  covered  with  great  Malvaceous-like 
flowers,  which  droop  on  their  peduncles.  The  fruit  is 
about  the  size  of  a  small  gourd. 

In  its  native  country,  this  tree  bears  a  name  which  signi- 
fies "  a  thousand  years ;"  and,  contrary  to  what  is  generally 
the  case,  this  name  expresses  what  is,  in  reality,  far  short 
of  the  truth.  Adanson  noticed  one  in  the  Cape  cle  Yerd 
Islands,  off  the  coast  of  Africa,  which  had  been  observed 
by  two  English  travellers  three  centuries  earlier ;  he  found 
within  its  trunk  the  inscription  which  they  had  graven 
there,  covered  over  with  three  hundred  woody  layers,  and 


*  See  "Reports  of  Explorations  and  Surveys,  to  ascertain  the  most  prac- 
ticable and  economical  route  for  a  railroad  from  the  Mississippi  River  to 
the  Pacific  Ocean/'  Vol.  IV. 


REMARKABLE   FOREST   TREES.  175 

thus  was  enabled  to  estimate  the  rate  of  the  increase  of  the 
stem  in  three  centuries.  "With  this  measure  he  succeeded 
in  estimating  the  number  of  year's  growth  of  the  entire 
stem,  and  in  ascertaining  the  age  of  the  tree,  which  he 
found  to  be  5150  years. 

But,  although  some  trees  live  for  thousands  of  years,  yet 
the  life  of  all  must  sooner  or  later  terminate ;  for,  to  each 
tree,  equally  with  the  lowly  plants  which  grow  beneath  its 
shade,  a  limited  period  of  life  has  been  allotted.  This 
period  may  vary  with  the  favorable  or  unfavorable  circum- 
stances in  which  the  tree  is  placed,  and  depends  also  on 
the  greater  or  less  amount  of  life-force  with  which  the 
embryo  was  endowed  in  the  beginning ;  but,  nevertheless, 
the  life  of  all  trees  has  its  appointed  period,  like  their  form, 
altitude,  and  other  specific  peculiarities. 

We  close  this  chapter  with  the  following  catalogue  of 
trees,  which  is  designed  to  show  how  the  age  of  the  same 
tree  may  vary : — The 

Palm  lives  from 200  to    300  years. 

Larch  (Larix  Europcea),  lives  from  .  ..        .        263  to    576  " 

Chestnut  (Castanea  vesca),      li      .  .  ...        360  to    626  " 

Walnut  (Juglans  regia),          "       .  .  .        .:       900  to  1000  " 

Olive  (Olea  Europoea),           "      .  .  .       TOO,  1000  to  2000  " 

Orange  (Citrus orantium),      "       .  .  .       400,    509  to    646  u 

Yew  (Taxus  baccata],             "      .  .1214,  1466,  2588  to  2880  " 

Oak  (Quercus  Europcea},       «        .  600,  800,    860,  1000  to  1400  " 


CHAPTER    XL 


THE  WOODS  TAKE  THE  FIRST  RANK  IN  THE  COMMUNITIES  OF 
THE  VEGETABLE  KINGDOM— RECIPROCITY  OF  ACTION  AMONGST 
PLANTS— A  COOL  ATMOSPHERE  PRODUCED  BY  WOODS— THEIR 
REMOVAL  IS  FOLLOWED  BY  A  WARMER,  DRIER  CLIMATE,  AND 
IS  BENEFICIAL  IN  SOME  CASES— WOODS  ON  MOUNTAINS  MUST 
NOT  BE  CUT  DOWN— PERNICIOUS  RESULTS  OF  THEIR  RE- 
MOVAL IN  ITALY— WOODS  USEFUL  ALONG  THE  SEA-SHORE 
WHERE  THE  COAST  IS  LOW  AND  SANDY— CONCLUDING  RE- 
MARKS. 

THE  plant  ^covering  of  the  earth  is  very  properly  called 
the  Vegetable  Kingdom.  It  is  indeed  a  state  in  the  king- 
dom of  Nature,  which,  like  the  state  under  the  government 
of  man,  is  divided  into  communities  of  the  greatest  differ- 
ence and  variety.  The  orders  of  plants  in  the  natural 
system  of  botany,  are  a  rough  draught  or  attempted  sketch 
of  these  communities,  and  among  them  the  woods  take  the 
first  rank.  The  magnitude  of  trees,  and  the  extent  which 
they  cover  when  they  form  forests,  makes  them  quite  a 
prominent  feature  in  the  landscape ;  and  they  are  quite  as 
important  as  their  conspicuous  appearance  would  seem  to 
intimate.  The  woods  are  indeed  the  supreme  rulers  of  the 
plant- world,  and  the  life  of  the  other  plants ;  and  the  pros- 
perity of  man  himself  is,  as  we  shall  now  proceed  to  prove, 
most  intimately  connected  with  their  existence. 

The  woods  show  us,  in  the  clearest  and  most  direct 
manner,  that  the  earth  would  be  perfectly  uninhabitable 
.if  plants  did  not  grow  together  in  communities.  Without 
these  natural  associations,  their  life,  as  individuals,  would 


USE   OF   WOODS   IN   THE    ECONOMY   OF   NATURE.          177 

be  in  the  highest  degree  endangered.  United  together, 
they  mutually  shelter  each  other  on  all  sides  against  storms 
and  the  drying  effect  of  the  sun's  rays.  This  reciprocity 
of  action  is  highly  interesting.  Thus,  herbaceous  plants 
and  grasses  envelope  the  earth  with  a  protective  covering. 
They  allow  the  sunbeams  access  to  the  young  seedlings, 
and  also  give  them  a  sufficient  amount  of  shade,  so  that 
the  sun's  rays  are  prevented  from  drying  the  soil,  and  thus 
injuring  their  young  life.  It  is  thus  that  trees  grow  up  at 
first  under  the  shadow  of  the  smallest  members  of  the 
vegetable  kingdom,  only  to  reciprocate,  as  they  approxi- 
mate to  the  period  of  their  maturity  and  strength,  the  favors 
which  they  received  in  the  hour  of  weakness  and  infancy. 
Under  their  summits  the  shadowed  earth  retains  its  mois- 
ture, and  the  poorer  plant-children  of  Nature  are  thus  fed, — 
whose  tender  rootlets  have  not  the  ability,  like  the  roots  of 
trees,  to  draw  their  moisture  deeply  out  of  the  earth. 
Besides,  a  moss  carpet  forms  on  the  ground  in  woods,  at 
least  in  temperate  and  cool  climates,  which  preserves  the 
soil  moist  much  longer,  or  lets  it  slowly  penetrate  to  the 
deeper  lying  basins  among  the  hills.  So  also,  when  showers 
of  rain  fall  on  forests,  the  leaves  of  the  trees  catch  the  drops, 
break  the  force  of  their  descent,  and  the  plants  thus  shel- 
tered gently  drink  in  the  moisture  of  the  storm,  whilst  they 
escape  its  violence.  The  moss-covering,  too,  retains  the 
moisture  long  after  the  storm  has  passed  and  sun-smiles 
brighten  the  earth,  whilst  the  shadow  of  the  trees  prevents 
its  evaporation. 

It  follows  that  a  wooded  soil  is  favorable  to  the  production 
of  springs;  also,  that  the  continued  existence  of  moisture 
in  woods,  and  the  constant  evaporation  from  them,  will  pro- 
duce a  cooler  atmosphere,  and  therefore  a  lower  degree  of 
temperature  in  a  country  where  they  abound.  It  is  not 
difficult  to  make  this  intelligible  to  the  reader.  The  ocean, 
winds,  and  woods,  may  be  regarded  as  the  several  parts  of 
a  grand  distillatory  apparatus.  The  sea  is  the  boiler  in 
which  vapor  is  raised  by  the  solar  heat,  the  winds  are  the 
guiding  tubes  which  carry  the  vapor  with  them  to  the 

13 


178  THE    USE   OF   WOODS 

forests,  where  a  lower  temperature  prevails.  This  naturally 
condenses  the  vapor,  and  showers  of  rain  are  thus  distilled 
from  the  cloud-masses,  which  float  in  the  atmosphere,  by 
the  woods  beneath  them.  The  grateful  moisture  descends 
on  the  thirsty  landscape,  replenishing  its  numerous  springs. 
The  little  streamlets*  which  issue  from  them  continue  to 
flow,  and  a  confluence  of  their  waters  forms  brooks  and 
rivers,  the  natural  arteries  of  a  country,  and  the  first  natural 
means  of  intercourse  and  commerce  possessed  by  a  people 
in  an  early  stage  of  civilization. 

The  Turks,  although  only  a  semi-civilized  people,  seem 
to  be  aware  of  the  cooling  influences  which  forests  exercise 
on  the  spot  where  they  are  located.  There  is,  to  day,  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Constantinople,  a  splendid  woods  of 
the  finest  beech  and  oak,  which  is  protected  by  law,  because 
it  feeds  a  spring,  the  water  of  which  supplies  the  whole 
city.  It  is  conducted  there  by  an  aqueduct. 

The  history  of  any  nation  traced  back  to  its  origin,  will 
attest  that  springs  and  rivers  have  ever  been  an  inducement 
for  man  to  forsake  his  roving  habits  and  commence  a  regu- 
lar life.  Examine  the  map  of  any  part  of  the  earth  where 
man  is  settled  and  civilized,  and  you  will  find  that  its  most 
important  cities  and  towns  are  located  near  its  rivers. 
Springs  and  rivers  will  ever  be  to  man  a  source  of  wealth 
and  power.  His  condition,  centuries  ago,  when  he  was 
without  the  experience  and  knowledge  of  Nature  which  he 
has  now  acquired,  was  such  as  to  make  him  gladly  avail 
himself  of  these  great  natural  aids.  Their  waters  supplied 
him  with  fish,  and  their  banks  with  herbage  for  his  ani- 
mals ;  they  facilitated  commercial  transactions,  to  which  he 
appears  to  have  a  natural  tendency,  and  they  furnished 
him  with  a  natural  mechanical  power  for  driving  his  earlier 
efforts  at  machinery.  Science  has  now  given  him  the 
steam-engine ;  how  great  an  advance  on  his  rude  water- 
mills  !  ~No  wonder  that  springs  and  rivers  were  adored, 
and  that  they  were  supposed  to  be  frequented  by  Nymphs, 
who  protected  and  presided  over  them.  These  beautiful 
myths  show  how  their  value  was  appreciated. 


IN  THE   ECONOMY   OF   NATURE.  179 

"When  a  country  is  deprived  of  its  forests,  the  springs 
and  rivulets  are  exhausted,  and  the  climate  is  rendered 
warmer  and  drier.  This  explains  the  reason  why  the 
climate  of  ancient  England  and  Germany,  at  the  time  of 
the  Roman  Emperor  Caesar,  resembled  that  which  Sweden 
now  possesses.  The  forests  were  then  extensive,  and  the 
woodcock,  stag,  wolf,  bear,  and  wild  boar,  made  them  a 
home,  as  now  we  find  them  in  the  woods  of  Sweden.  So 
also,  the  climate  of  Greece,  in  Homer's  time,  was  like  that 
of  modern  Germany,  which  now  produces  the  orange  and 
the  grape. 

The  industry  of  England  has  removed  its  native  forests, 
and  its  meadows  are  the  richest  and  most  luxuriant  in 
Europe ;  but  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that,  in  this  instance, 
the  climate  is  insular,  and  therefore  the  clearing  has  been 
effected  without  any  inj  urious  consequences.  It  is  the  same 
with  countries  about  the  North  Sea  and  the  Baltic.  Where, 
as  here,  there  is  a  temperate  zone  and  an  incessant  supply 
of  moisture  from  the  neighboring  seas,  the  woods  are  of 
less  consequence,  in  fact  it  is  far  better  to  cut  them  down; 
for  they  make  the  climate  too  moist  and  cold,  and  prevent 
the  successful  cultivation  of  the  soil.  The  present  agricul- 
tural condition  of  Finland,  in  Northern  Russia,  establishes 
this  fact ;  for  the  removal  of  its  woods  has  dried  up  its 
swamps  and  forwarded  cultivation,  whilst  it  has  rendered 
the  climate  milder  and  more  habitable.  So  in  laying  the 
railroad  across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  the  country  was 
found  to  be  unhealthy  because  too  thickly  wooded.  Its 
swampy  condition  and  the  heat  of  the  climate  caused  it  to 
reek  with  malaria  and  to  abound  with  noxious  reptiles  and 
venomous  insects,  whilst  hundreds  of  workmen  employed 
on  the  road  died  of  yellow  fever.  A  place  was  selected  for 
a  burial-ground  soon  after  the  work  was  commenced.  It 
is  now  called  Hope  Cemetery.  It  is  surrounded  by  dense 
foliage  on  every  side,  marked  by  the  mourning  plumes  of 
the  cocoa-nut  and  the  palm.  Here  those  who  fell  victims 
to  the  unhealthiness  of  the  climate  whilst  constructing  the 
road,  were  buried  by  their  heavy-hearted  comrades.  It 


180  THE   USE    OF    WOODS 

follows,  from  these  facts,  that  a  too  great  expansion  of 
woods,  as  well  as  their  removal,  has  its  limits.  The  geo- 
graphical position  of  Panama,  lying  in  the  neighborhood 
of  two  oceans,  shows  that  good  effects  will  result  from  the 
clearing  of  its  dense  sun-excluding  forests  and  the  thorough 
cultivation  of  its  soil ;  for  its  marshes  and  malaria  will  dis- 
appear and  its  climate  improve. 

But  where  the  country  is  not  situated  near  seas  or  oceans, 
and  the  climate  is  continental,  then  man  must  be  careful,  in 
cutting  down  the  woods,  not  to  transgress  the  limits  which 
Nature  has  prescribed.  Where  there  are  mountains,  the 
woods  must  be  allowed  to  stand,  for  they  cannot  be 
removed  without  the  most  pernicious  consequences. 

The  relative  dependency  subsisting  amongst  the  different 
plants  of  a  landscape,  and  their  relation  to  the  soil,  can  only 
be  understood  by  a  reference  to  first  principles.  A  wood, 
through  the  roots  of  its  trees,  as  well  as  by  its  thick  moss 
or  grass  covering,  binds  together  the  soil  on  the  declivities 
of  the  mountains,  and  thus  in  the  most  natural  and  simple 
manner  strengthens  them.  If  we  take  the  wood  away,  the 
springs  are  dried  up,  and  the  moss  or  grass  covering  dis- 
appears. The  power  of  the  rain,  no  longer  broken  by 
millions  of  leaves  and  by  the  grassy  mantle,  comes,  down 
in  unrestrained  violence,  and  the  loose  soil  torn  from  the 
mountain  side  is  carried  down  into  the  subjacent  valleys. 
Here  it  settles  as  sand  and  mud,  which  fills  up  the  brooks 
and  rivers,  and  renders  their  waters  turbid,  so  that  they 
overflow  their  banks  and  inundate  the  plains.  This  sand 
and  mud  is  left  on  the  grass-covering  of  the  plains  when 
the  storm  subsides,  and  the  waters  return  to  their  accus- 
tomed channels.  But  every  farmer  knows  that  crops  of 
hay  raised  on  meadows  frequently  inundated,  are  worth- 
less as  food  for  cattle.  At  length,  in  the  course  of  years, 
these  swampy  pastures  become  overspread  with  sand ;  the 
former  riches  and  prosperity  of  the  inhabitants  slowly  dis- 
appear, and  the  once  happy  valley  becomes  uninhabitable. 

But  this  is  not  all.  The  whole  landscape  gradually 
changes,  an  entirely  new  plant- covering  is  produced,  and, 


IN   THE   ECONOMY   OF   NATURE.  181 

in  warmer  climates,  poisonous  gases  are  developed  from 
the  swamps,  as  in  those  of  Panama  and  in  the  Pontine 
marshes  of  Italy.  It  is  thus  that  mischief  done  to  the 
woods  on  mountains,  is  a  bequest  of  destruction  to  coming 
generations. 

No  country  in  the  world  was  formerly  more  healthy  or 
more  richly  cultivated  than  Italy,  once  the  "garden  of 
Europe,"  now  only  an  extensive  morass.  Where  at  one 
time  the  richest  life  prevailed,  gloomy  Death  threatens  to 
extinguish  its  fresh  torch.  He  is  aided  by  malaria,  a 
disease  whose  existence  is  to  be  attributed  wholly  to  the 
unhealthy  decomposition  of  animal  and  vegetable  matter 
in  the  stagnant  marshes  so  abundant  in  the  country.  The 
poisonous  effluvia  spreads  slowly  among  the  few  inhabi- 
tants whom  iron  necessity  alone  compels  to  remain.  Ague, 
liver  and  hypochondriacal  affections,  are  in  its  train.  Pale 
and  yellow  complexions,  with  weak  eyes,  a  swollen  abdo- 
men, and  a  wearisome  gait,  the  accompaniments  of  these 
diseases,  are  everywhere  to  be  seen  among  the  poor  inhabi- 
tants. Behind  them  lurks  a  malignant  fever,  which  carries 
off  the  greater  portion  of  them  prematurely.  What  has 
made  this  once  prosperous,  healthy,  and  populous  country, 
so  poor,  diseased,  and  deserted  ?  The  woods  have  been 
removed  from  its  mountains  !  Look  at  the  map,  and  you 
will  see  that  these  run  through  the  central  and  northwestern 
portions  of  the  Italian  peninsula.  The  Appenines  are  at 
present  almost  entirely  denuded  of  the  noble  forests  which 
once  flanked  and  protected  their  sides,  and  all  travellers 
agree  that  there  is  now  no  country  so  sorrowful  as  that 
which  is  included  in  what  is  called  the  States  of  the  Church, 
and  which  lies  along  the  Appenine  chain,  between  Genoa 
and  Naples.  Unhappy  Italy,  thy  serene  and  sunny  sl^ies 
are  now  darkened  by  storms,  but  free  nations  are  with  thee 
in  their  sympathies,  and  a  free  press  whose  influences  are 
already  visible  in  all  the  movements  of  thy  enemies  !  For 
why  that  concealed  and  stealthy  step  ?  Is  it  not  because 
despotism  fears  this  fearful  weapon,  and  would  avoid  its 
effects,  well  knowing  that  it  is  quite  as  sure  in  its.  aim  as 


182  THE   USE   OF   WOODS 

rifled  cannon,  while  it  possesses  a  far  longer  range  ?  Is 
there  any  painting  or  sculpture  in  the  world  which  rivals 
that  of  Italy  ?  What  music  is  so  sweet  as  the  Italian  song  ? 
It  has  now  lost  its  softness,  its  gentle,  mournful  cadence ; 
its  tones  are  spirit-inspiring  and  martial.  Surely  brighter 
and  better  days  are  in  store  for  Italy.  May  we  live  to  see 
this  interesting  people,  so  long  the  victims  of  religious 
and  political  despotism,  free  from  their  enemies  and  self- 
governed.  u  For  a  nation  to  be  free,  it  is  sufficient  that  she 
wills  it." 

Leaving  Italy  for  Germany,  we  find  even  this  country, 
which  has  produced  so  many  reformers  and  philosophers, 
is  not  exempt  from  the  terrible  consequences  of  the  re- 
moval of  its  mountain  forests.  A  journey  amongst  the 
forests  of  Thuringia  and  the  Hartz  Mountains  furnishes 
innumerable  vouchers  of  this  fact. 

Woods  are  also  useful  along  the  sea-shore,  where  the 
coasts  are  low  and  sandy,  as  their  roots  bind  together  the 
loose  sand,  and  prevent  its  being  drifted  inland  by  the  sea- 
breezes.  One  or  two  examples  will  show  this  in  a  striking 
light. 

The  sea-sand  having  overflowed  the  country  situated  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  Gulf  of  Gascogne,  on  the  western 
coast  of  France,  and  threatened  to  make  it  valueless  and 
uninhabitable ;  Bremontier,  a  resident  of  the  province, 
succeeded  in  opposing  an  effectual  barrier  to  its  further 
progress  by  planting  a  wood.  He  first  of  all  planted  the 
sand-loving  Broom-Rush  (Sarothamnus  scoparius),  and  pro- 
duced in  its  shade  young  Pine-trees,  and  so  brought  the 
overflow  of  the  sea-sand  to  a  stand  still. 

By  reference  to  the  map  of  Prussia,  it  will  be  seen  that 
the^e  is  situated  in  eastern  Prussia,  between  latitude  54° 
15'  and  54°  45'  North,  and  longitude  19°  15'  and  20°  25' 
East,  an  extensive  lagoon,  called  the  Frische-Haff,  or  Fresh 
Gulf,  which  is  separated  from  the  Baltic  by  the  Frische- 
Nehrung,  or  Fresh  Beach,  a  tongue  of  land  thirty-eight 
miles  in  length  by  one  in  breadth,  the  northeast  extremity 
of  which  communicates  with  the  Baltic  by  a  channel  half 


IN   THE   ECONOMY   OF   NATURE.  183 

a  mile  across.  The  low  shores  along  this  line  of  coast  are 
washed  by  the  waters  of  the  Gulf  of  Dantzig,  and  in  the 
middle  ages  its  Dunes,  or  hills  of  blown  sand,  which  stretch 
almost  from  Dantzig  to  Pillan,  were  covered  with  a  thick 
pine  forest  and  an  undergrowth  of  heath*. 

"  King  Frederick  William,  of  Prussia,  wanted  money. 
One  of  liis  noblemen,  wishing  to  secure  his  favor,  promised 
to  procure  it  him  without  loan  or  tax,  if  he  would  permit 
these  forests  to  be  removed.  The  King  not  only  allowed 
the  forests  in  Prussia  to  be  cleared,  which,  at  that  time, 
were  certainly  of  little  value,  but  he  also  permitted  the 
whole  of  the  woods  on  the  Frische-Nehrung  to  be  felled, 
so  far  as  they  were  Prussian.  The  financial  operation  was 
perfectly  prosperous  ;  the  King  had  money.  But  in  the 
elementary  operations  which  followed  therefrom,  the  State 
received  such  an  injury  that  its  effects  remain  even  to  this 
day.  The  sea- winds  can  now  sweep  unimpeded  over  the 
denuded  hills,  the  Frische-Haff  is  already  half- filled  with 
sand, — its  depth  being  now  in  no  place  more  than  twelve 
feet, — and  sedges  grow  for  some  distance  in  its  shallowing 
waters,  threatening  to  convert  it  into  a  monstrous  swamp; 
the  anchorage  extending  between  Elbing,  the  sea,  and 
Konigsberg  is  endangered,  and  the  fishing  in  the  Haff 
injured.  In  vain  have  all  possible  efforts  been  made, 
through  sand-heaps  and  pastures  of  coarse  sea-grass,  to 
cover  again  these  hills  with  matted  roots.  The  wind 
mocks  at  every  exertion.  The  operation  of  the  Prussian 
nobleman  brought  the  King  two  hundred  thousand  thalers ; 
now  the  people  would  give  millions  if  they  had  the  woods 
back  again."* 

The  woods,  in  their  united  might,  are  truly  a  natural 
fascine  or  fortification,  which  serves  to  withstand  the  per- 
petual encroachments  of  the  sand-hills  on  low,  exposed 
shores ;  growing  on  the  side  of  the  mountains,  they  stay 
the  further  progress  of  glaciers,  and  protect  the  inhabitants 
of  the  valleys  against  the  avalanche  or  mountain  snow-ball, 

*  Das  Buck  der  pflanzenwelt,  von  Dr.  Karl  Muller.     Leipzig,  1857. 


184         DEATH  OF  THE  TREE  FOUNDED  ON 

which  loosening  on  the  lofty  Alpine  summit,  comes  thun- 
dering with  gradually  accumulating  power  down  the 
mountain-side,  and  spends  its  fury  on  the  crashing  but 
conquering  forests  of  hardy  Coniferce. 

In  America  we  are  in  danger  of  losing  sight  of  the  utility 
of  the  woods.  "We  want  the  land  which  they  cover  for 
agricultural  purposes,  we  look  on  them  as  an  incun^brance 
on  the  soil,  and  their  cutting  down  is  a  mere  question  of 
cents  and  dollars.  Witness  the  disgraceful  vandalism  which 
felled  the  noble  Sequoias  of  California.  Hence,  the  woods 
are  disappearing  on  all  sides,  and  this,  too,  on  the  most 
formidable  scale. 

But  it  is  plain  that  other  considerations  ought  to  enter 
into  our  calculations  as  to  the  removal  of  a  woods,  besides- 
its  mere  value  as  timber.  If  we  remove  trees  from  the 
mountain-side,  from  a  low  sandy  coast,  or  from  an  inland 
district  only  scantily  supplied  with  water,  there  is  no  end 
to  the  mischievous  consequences  which  will  ensue.  By 
such  ignorant  work  as  this,  the  equilibrium  in  the  House- 
hold of  Nature  is  fearfully  disturbed,  and  her  wise  and 
beneficent  arrangements  for  our  own  good  are  completely 
frustrated. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

THE  DEATH  OF  THE  TREE  IS  FOUNDED  ON  AN  INNER  LAW  OF  ITS 
ORGANISM,  AND  IS  NOT  THE  RESULT  OF  ACCIDENTAL  CAUSES. 


have,  in  the  preceding  chapters,  traced  the  develop- 
ment of  the  tree,  from  the  first  appearance  of  life  in  the 
germinating  seed,  till  the  period  when  it  arrives  at  an 
adult  state,  so  as  to  be  capable  of  flowering  and  reproduc- 
tion. But  this  history  would  be  incomplete  if  we  did  not 
consider  trees  in  the  decline  of  life,  and  review  those 
causes  which  produce  their  old  age,  decay,  and  the  ulti- 
mate dissolution  of  the  several  parts  of  their  fabric. 


AN   INNER   LAW   OF  ITS   ORGANISM.  185 

The  individual  existence  of  a  plant  usually  terminates 
with  the  formation  of  its  flowers  and  seed.  This  law  ap- 
plies at  least  to  annuals  and  biennials.  In  herbaceous 
perennials  and  shrubs,  on  the  contrary,  those  branches 
only  die  which  terminate  in  flowers,  or  in  an  inflorescence. 
With  trees,  at  length,  death  extends  not  to  the  whole 
flowering  axis,  but  only  to  its  upper  part,  which  dies  down 
to  the  origin  of  the  last  side-shoots.  And  the  reason  is 
plain :  the  mother-shoot  is  nourished  and  its  life  secured 
by  the  daughter-shoots  to  which  it  gives  birth.  If  the 
reader  also  take  the  fact  into  consideration,  that  of  the 
numerous  axes  of  a  tree,  only  a  small  number,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  others,  terminate  in  flowers,  he  will  clearly 
perceive  that  the  tree  has,  despite  the  formation  of  its 
flowers,  ample  means  of  an  independent  continuance  of  its 
growth  and  life. 

But,  we  see  that,  notwithstanding  the  numerous  perma- 
nently vegetative  branches  which  the  tree  possesses,  as  a 
preservative  against  the  exhausting  influences  of  its  flowers, 
or  reproductive  organs,  yet  nevertheless,  it  dies  sooner  or 
later ;  and  this  question  arises  for  consideration :  Is  the 
death  of  the  tree  brought  about  in  accordance  with  a  regu- 
lar law  to  which  its  organism  is  subjected  ?  or  does  it  pos- 
sess a  natural  tendency  to  an  unlimited  duration  of  life, 
which  is  only  brought  to  an  end,  accidentally,  through 
storms  and  other  hurtful  outward  influences  ?  The  former 
appears  to  me  to  be  the  correct  view,  and  I  am  sustained 
in  this  opinion  by  linger*  and  Mohl,f  both  eminent  phy- 
siologists. 

We  have  seen  that  every  part  of  the  tree  is  a  representa- 
tive of  a  certain  stage  of  development  through  which  the 
tree  has  passed,  whether  it  be  leaf,  shoot,  or  branch.  But 
each  of  these  parts  passes  through  certain  regular  stages 
of  infancy,  maturity,  decay,  and  death. 

Now  the  growth  of  all  the  leaf-forms  temporarily  put 
forth  by  the  tree,  as  well  as  the  shoots  and  branches  which 

*  Grundz.  d.  Anat.  u.  Phy.  S.  131. 
f  Vegetabilische  Zelle,  S.  65. 


186         DEATH  OF  THE  TREE  FOUNDED  ON 

remain  permanently  connected  witli  its  structure  is  accele- 
rated during  the  earlier  part  of  their  life,  and  retarded  as 
they  arrive  at  maturity  and  towards  its  close.  Thus  the 
growths  made  yearly  are  accelerated  during  the  early  part 
of  the  vegetative  season,  when  the  conditions  are  the  most 
favorable,  and  gradually  retarded  as  the  season  advances  ; 
till,  finally,  the  growths  cease  altogether,  and  the  tree  con- 
tinues in  a  state  of  passive  vitality  through  the  winter 
months,  being  in  precisely  the  same  condition  as  a  seed 
before  it  germinates.  With  the  return  of  Spring  and  warm 
weather,  the  vitality  of  the  seed  and  tree  again  becomes 
active ;  the  former  germinates,  and  the  latter  puts  forth 
new  leaves  and  shoots,  and  is  again  covered  with  its  usual 
exuberance  of  foliage.  This  we  have  called,  in  Chapter 
VI,  "the  annual  wave." 

But  there  is  also  a  "  grand  life-wave."  For  these  yearly 
growths  themselves,  I  mean  those  made  by  the  main  stem 
and  branches  of  the  tree,  are  subject  to  the  same  law  of 
fluctuation.  At  first  we  have  powerful  year's  growths,  a 
rapid  increase  of  shoots  and  broad  wood-rings,  until  the 
tree  gains  its  maximum  height  and  spread ;  then  follows 
a  remission  of  growth,  the  year's  shoots  become  always 
shorter  and  more  circumscribed,  the  increase  of  shoots 
disappears,  and  the  year's  ring,  or  growth  in  thickness, 
becomes  smaller  and  smaller. 

In  the  gradual  expiration  of  growth  at  the  extremities  of 
the  branches,  when  the  tree  has  attained  its  greatest  alti- 
tude and  passed  the  period  of  its  prime,  the  following 
stages  of  remission  may  be  distinctly  observed :  1.  A  little 
annular  development,  with  some  branching,  yet  so  that  the 
lateral  shoots  appear  as  clusters  of  leaves,  no  internodes 
being  formed  between  them.  2.  Only  single  shoots,  a 
little  developed,  with  here  and  there  a  bud  formed.  3. 
Lengthening  of  the  annular  growths  or  shoots  only 
through  a  bud-trace,  with  the  formation  of  one  or  two 
leaves  each  year:  no  side  productions  whatever,  and  a 
vermicular  curving  of  the  branches,  yet  with  powerful 
terminal  buds.  4.  The  terminal  bud  pines,  gradually 


AN   INNER  LAW  OF  ITS   ORGANISM.  187 

loses  the  power  of  unfolding  itself,  and  finally  dies.  "With 
the  death  of  the  terminal  bud,  and  the  cessation  of  the 
formation  of  any  more  leaves,  the  further  growth  of  the 
branch  is  necessarily  completely  arrested. 

The  same  remission  of  growth  shows  itself  in  the  de- 
velopment of  the  branches,  whose  growth  is  gradually 
retarded  from  one  generation  to  another.  The  power  of 
any  branch  to  give  forth  branchlets  is  not  indefinite,  but 
has  its  appointed  limits.  New  shoots  are  annually  put 
forth  by  the  terminal  and  lateral  buds  of  the  branches, 
until  the  vegetative  powers  of  the  branch  are  completely 
exhausted.  That,  in  each  succeeding  generation  of  shoots, 
these  powers  are  more  and  more  enfeebled,  is  evident  if  we 
cast  only  a  momentary  glance  at  the  branch  and  its  branch- 
lets.  We  see  that  the  branchlets  become  gradually  smaller 
and  finer  in  proportion  as  their  connection  with  the  parent 
branch  is  more  remote,  until  finally  the  leaves  which  they 
put  forth  are  too  enfeebled  in  their  vitality  to  produce 
buds,  their  axils  remaining  unfruitful,  and  all  further  ra- 
mification is  thus  necessarily  arrested. 

It  is  the  nature  of  all  living  organisms,  whether  animal 
or  vegetable,  to  be  running  through  one  perpetually  recur- 
ring cycle  of  the  same  life-changes,  of  infancy,  maturity, 
decay,  and  dissolution.  The  compound  plant  called  a  tree, 
is  no  exception  to  this  universal  law  of  Nature.  We  have 
seen  that,  in  the  earlier  portions  of  its  life,  it  is  represented 
by  each  of  its  parts.  These  parts  do  not  all  die  at  the 
same  time,  and  their  individuality  is  strikingly  indicated 
by  their  different  periods  of  life.  Thus,  the  cells  of  the 
wood  and  bark,  together  with  the  different  varieties  of  leaf- 
forms,  called  by  botanists  bud-scales,  stipules,  bracts,  se- 
pals, petals,  stamens,  and  pistils,  have  all  a  life  peculiar  to 
themselves.  The  bud-scales  have  arrived  at  the  close  of 
life  when  the  green  leaves  of  the  stem  are  in  their  infancy, 
and  in  spring  make  their  appearance,  and  throw  off  their 
winter  envelopes ;  and  the  petals  and  stamens  die  when  the 
pistils  begin  to  mature.  Even  the  vitality  of  the  walls  of 
the  ovary,  or  seed-vessel  itself,  is  exhausted  in  the  forma- 


188        DEATH  OF  THE  TREE  FOUNDED  ON 

tion  of  the  seed,  and  dies  after  nourishing  into  life  the 
embryo  plant  which  is  contained  within  its  folds. 

Not  only  the  leaves,  but  the  shoots,  branches,  and 
branchlets,  arrive  at  their  maximum  development,  and 
then  manifest  all  the  symptoms  of  a  gradually  expiring 
vitality ;  and  this,  too,  at  different  periods  of  time.  It  is 
not  always  that  leaves  form  buds,  or  buds  become  mother- 
shoots  or  branches.  The  leaves  situated  towards  the  upper 
part  of  the  shoot  usually  form  the  finest  buds ;  and  from 
these  shoots  proceed,  which  develope  other  shoots,  at  their 
sides  and  summits,  and  thus  become  mother-shoots  or 
branches ;  and  these  branches  develope  another  genera- 
tion of  shoots  or  branchlets  ;  and  so  on,  until  the  vital 
powers  of  the  branch  are  exhausted,  which  happens  some- 
times in  the  second,  third,  and  occasionally  in  the  fourth 
generation.  But  the  buds  produced  by  the  under  leaves 
either  form  rudimentary  shoots,  or  mere  clusters  of  leaves ; 
or,  if  the  leaves  should  have  a  sufficiency  of  vital  power 
to  form  intern  odes,  and  thus  become  separated  from  each 
other,  yet  the  buds  produced  by  them  remain  inactive, 
and  the  shoots  thus  formed  never  become  mother-shoots, 
but  their  term  of  life  speedily  draws  to  its  close.  Every 
year  may  be  perceived,  especially  on  tlje  under  part  of  the 
stem  and  branches  of  trees,  these  primary  branches  thus 
gradually  expiring,  or  absolutely  dead.  They  are  quite  as 
easily  detached  from  the  stem  as  an  ordinary  leaf,  and  are 
generally  removed  by  the  wind. 

And  the  fate  which  thus  overtakes  the  individual  parts 
of  the  tree,  or  the  tree  in  the  lower  stages  of  its  develop- 
ment, will  finally  overtake  the  tree  itself,  when  fully  deve- 
loped ;  for  the  same  law  which  gives  form  to  the  tree  and 
its  several  parts,  the  law  of  the  decrease  of  growth  in  the 
upper  parts  of  the  mdin  stem  or  axis,  as  also  in  the  suc- 
cessive generations  of  branches,  is  that  which  must  finally 
set  bounds  to  the  existence  of  the  tree  itself. 

An  animal  may  continue  to  live  after  it  ceases  to  grow, 
but  with  the  tree  it  is  otherwise  ;  for  the  tree  continues  to 
grow  as  long  as  it  livens,  and  when  it  ceases  to  grow  in  any 


AN   INNER   LAW   OF   ITS   ORGANISM.  189 

of  its  parts,  the  life  of  those  parts  must  inevitably  and 
necessarily  terminate.  This  gradually  expiring  growth  at 
its  extremities  is,  therefore,  significant  of  the  fact  that  the 
tree  has  passed  its  prime,  and  that  its  life  is  gradually 
drawing  to  its  close.  The  death  of  the  tree,  therefore, 
takes  place  from  within  to  without,  or  from  its  centre  to 
its  circumference,  and  from  ahove  to  below ;  or  it  dies 
downwardly,  from  the  extremities  of  its  branches  to  its 
roots. 

Schleiden,  Gray,  De  Candolle,  and  others,  have  indeed 
advanced  the  doctrine  that  the  tree  can  only  perish 
through  storms  or  other  mechanical  injuries,  and  that 
there  is  nothing  in  its  organization  to  intimate  that  it 
may  not  continue  to  vegetate  for  an  indefinite  period  of 
time.  But,  although  we  freely  admit  that  it  is  difficult 
to  point  out  clearly  the  several  stages  of  vegetative  in- 
activity, till  the  life  and  growth  of  the  whole  tree  forever 
ceases,  and  that  in  most  cases  the  death  of  the  tree  is 
brought  about  by  violent  interruptions  to  the  natural 
life-processes,  or  a  want  of  those  conditions  which  are 
necessary  to  their  continuance,  yet  we  do  not  altogether 
agree  with  the  views  of  these  distinguished  physiologists, 
for  the  reason  we  have  already  assigned. 

The  growth  of  the  tree  in  the  air,  and  that  of  the  coral- 
reef  in  the  ocean,  is  somewhat  analogous.  The  first  is 
built  up  by  a  community  of  plants,  the  last  by  a  society 
of  animals ;  leaves  are  the  architects  in  the  former,  and 
polypi  in  the  latter  instance.  Both  are  equally  substan- 
tial and  enduring  monuments  of  the  skill  of  architects 
alike  perishable  and  insignificant,  capable  of  withstand- 
ing the  storms  of  the  elements  from  which  they  draw 
their  life,  and  which  thus  rage  for  hundreds  and  thou- 
sands o"f  years  harmlessly  around  them.  The  dead  indi- 
viduals of  the  coral-reef  serve  as  a  firm  foundation  for 
succeeding  generations  of  workmen  or  polypi,  who  con- 
tinue their  labors  at  the  same  structure.  So  is  it  with  the 
tree.  What  is  the  dead,  fissured  bark  on  the  outside  of 
yonder  old  tree-stem,  and  the  dead  wood  in  its  inside,  but 


190  THE  DEATH  OF  THE  TREE. 

matter  which  was  formed  by  the  labors  of  generations  of 
shoots  and  leaves  which  have  preceded  the  present  gene- 
ration, which  still  continues  to  cover  its  venerable  stem 
and  branches  with  the  renewed  verdure  and  beauty  of  the 
spring-time  of  its  life  ? 

Reader,  if  you  wish  for  peace  and  contentment  of  mind, 
study  Nature.  You  will  be  brought  into  communion  with 
the  infinite  and  eternal.  You  will  become  temperate  in 
your  desires.  You  will  love  truth  and  righteousness. 
The  contemplation  of  this  majestic  system  of  continuous 
and  eternal  change  will  give  loftiness  to  your  thoughts  ; 
free  your  mind  from  a  groveling  and  ignorant  supersti- 
tion ;  give  you  just,  confiding,  worthy  views  of  your 
Creator,  and  enable  you  to  march  through  life  with  a 
firm,  with  a  manly  step.  This  world  is  full  of  beauty 
little  understood  or  appreciated.  An  overflowing  good- 
ness has  covered  the  earth  with  flowers  and  glorious 
forest  trees,  yet  how  few,  comparatively  speaking,  care  to 
know  anything  about  them.  We  invite  you  to  this  grand 
and  ancient  library  ;  to  the  study  of  these  volumes  over- 
flowing with  wisdom  and  instruction.  It  is  not  the  mere 
study  of  Nature,  but  the  impressive  lessons  which  she 
teaches.  Thoughts  of  infinitude  and  eternity  come  to 
me  from  the  distant  stars,  and  from  the  forms  of  vanished 
life  laid  up  in  the  rocks,  reminding  me  that  my  own  life 
is  fleeting  and  evanescent,  as  the  vapor  of  morning.  The 
lofty  tree,  with  its  wealth  of  branches  and  foliage,  perishes 
alike  with  one  of  the  lowly  undistinguished  blades  of 
grass  which  it  overshadows  ;  so  none  are  so  high  or  well- 
known  but  they  shall,  ere  long,  lie  low  and  be  forgotten. 
And  herein  is  seen  the  wisdom  and  equity  of  the  arrange- 
ments of  Nature,  that  all  must  submit  to  the  same  great 
laws  of  decay  and  dissolution.  She  shows,  in  this  re- 
spect, no  partiality.  Superior  talent,  energy,  or  social 
position,  may  for  awhile  elevate  some  fragments  of  hu- 
manity above  their  fellows,  but  all  are  in  the  end  reduced 
to  the  same  level. 


NOTICES  OF  THE  PRESS. 


From  the  "  Evening  Bulletin,"  April  llth,  1859. 

"  THIS  work,  of  which  two  parts,  or  104  pages,  are  before  us,  is  a  vast  simile  ; 
not  unlike  that  of  the  tree  Ygdrasil,  by  which  the  Norsemen  typified  all  creation. 
Mr.  Coultas  is  an  accomplished  botanist ;  the,  author  of  '  Organic  Life  in  Animals 
and  Plants,'  and  other  works,  and  a  very  earnest  thinker.  In  the  present  instance 
he  makes  a  curious,  and  indeed  valuable  application  of  the  phenomena  of  organic 
conditions  and  development  in  a  tree  to  those  of  society.  In  the  first  number  we 
have  the  nature  and  manner  of  growth  of  a  tree  set  forth  very  distinctly  ;  so  much 
so  that,  as  a  mere  chapter  in  natural  philosophy,  it  could  not  fail  to  deeply  interest 
any  intelligent  reader.  This  accomplished,  an  application  is  made  of  the  organic 
peculiarities  to  the  growth  and  forms  of  that  higher  organism,  society.  This  is 
done  with  great  ingenuity,  and  in  a  manner  displaying  a  highly  philosophic  and 
philanthropic  mind.  Mr.  Coultas  is  a  man  of  liberal  principles,  warm  heart,  and 
a  friend  to  social  progress,  as  based  on  the  laws  of  Nature  and  Health.  It  is  hardly 
possible  to  say  more  in  favor  of  a  writer  in  the  present  century,  when  science, 
reality,  earnestness,  and  genial  strength  are  beginning  to  take  the. place  of  idle 
metaphysics,  romantic  aspiration,  morbid  melancholy,  and  weakness. 

"  The  work  abounds  in  reflections,  in  passages  so  true,  so  large-minded  and  so 
comprehensive,  that  we  should  be  sorry  indeed  not  to  have  read  them.  His  views 
on  labor  are  truly  noble.  He  recognizes  that  advancing  society  casts  off  the  idler, 
requires  more  and  more  the  producer,  and  renders  the  latter  more  productive.  In 
short,  the  whole  book  will  evidently  be  a  marked  contribution  to  American  litera- 
ture. We  commend  it  as  one  deserving  the  attention  of  those  who  read  good  and 
useful  books." 

From  the  "American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,"  July,  1859. 

' '  We  are  indebted  to  the  author  for  sending  us,  some  time  ago,  parts  first  and 
second  of  this  work,  and  we  have  just  now  received  part  third.  The  former  were 
read  with  considerable  interest,  and  as  soon  as  opportunity  offers,  we  hope  to  de- 
rive pleasure  and  instruction  from  following  the  author  through  Chapter  vii,  in 
which  he  brings  forward  some  new  views  in  regard  to  the  development  of  leaves, 
and  Chapter  viii,  a  sketch  of  the  geological  records  of  primaeval  botany.  Mr. 
Coultas  certainly  has  the  true  enthusiasm  of  a  student  of  nature,  and  after  setting 
forth  the  numerous  beauties,  harmonies  and  adaptabilities  of  vegetable  life  as  ex- 
hibited in  the  tree,  he  uses  them  in  illustration  of  his  views  of  political  and  social 
economy — aiming  to  benefit  as  well  as  interest  his  readers.  We  hope  the  author 
will  receive  substantial  encouragement  to  continue  his  work  to  completion." 

From  the  "  Sunday  Dispatch,"  October  17th,  1858. 

"Mr.  Coultas  is  a  Botanist  who  sees  in  Nature's  works'  something  more  than 
twigs,  leaves,  and  flowers.  He  deduces  therefrom  the  most  useful  lessons,  and 
has  the  happy  enthusiasm  which  enables  him  to  illustrate  his  ideas  with  clearness 
and  interest.  This  treatise  upon  the  Tree  contains  very  useful  information,  which 
is  set  forth  with  so  much  ability,  and  treated  in  such  an  agreeable  style,  that  no 
one  can  fail  to  appreciate  and  be  instructed.  It  only  requires  genius  to  invest  the 
driest  subject  with  interest,  and  in  botanical  affairs  Mr.  Coultas  is  an  undoubted 
genius." 

From  the  "  Pennsylvanian  Inquirer,"  October  9th,  1858. 

"In  the  multitude  of  publications  which  are  issued  from  the  press,  so  valuable 
a  work  as  this  is  liable  to  be  overlooked.  We  have  read  this  first  part  with  a 
satisfaction  bordering  upon  admiration  for  its  author,  who  has  learned  to  take 
Nature  by  the  hand  as  a  parent,  a  tutor,  and  guide.  No  person  can  read  the  work 
without  becoming  a  wiser  and  better  man  ;  and  the  author  may  be  assured  that 
he  has  not  mastered  the  secret  of  labor  in  vain.  His  work  is  destined  to  survive 
him,  though  we  trust  he  may  live  long  to  supply  the  world  with  his  original 


192  NOTICES   OF   THE   PRESS. 

thoughts  and  the  results  of  his  earnest  and  well-directed  labors.  In  very  deed 
has  he  surpassed  Orpheus.  The  ancient  minstrel  made  trees  dance,  but  Harland 
Coultas  has  made  them  speak,  and  with  wonderfully  attractive  eloquence.  The 
true  patrons  of  the  highest  form  of  human  learning  should  step  out  of  their  way 
to  encourage  this  philosopher,  who  gives  us  the  '  sermons  in  trees'  that  Shakspeare 
felt,  but  has  not  reported,  as  is  now  beautifully  done."  . 

From  the  "  United  States  Journal  of  Homoeopathy,"  February,  1860. 
"Hugh  Miller  has  given  us  ' The  Testimony  of  the  Rocks,'  and  Mr.  Coultas 
here  offers  The  Testimony  of  the  Trees.  After  a  careful  perusal  of  the  work,  we 
feel  deeply  interested  in  its  wide-spread  circulation,  believing  that  it  must  prove 
highly  instructive,  both  as  to  Botany  and  the  true  aims  of  life,  morally,  socially, 
and  spiritually.  Seldom  do  we  find  an  author  so  exact  in  detail  and  philosophical, 
who  writes  with  so  much  ease  and  life  as  Mr.  Coultas.  We  venture  the  opinion, 
that  no  one  who  reads  two  pages  of  his  work,  could  willingly  turn  away  till  the 
last  page  is  read.  And  we  further  venture  the  opinion  that,  no  one  who  reads  it 
thoughtfully,  can  cherish  any  but  feelings  of  kindness  for  the  author,  and  the  best 
of  wishes  for  the  circulation  of  his  book.  Buy  a  copy,  my  friends,  and  read  it 
well ,-  and  our  word  for  it,  when  you  go  forth  again  into  the  'grim  old  wood,'  or 
shady  grove,  you  will  be  astonished  to  find  how  talkative  and  companiable  are  the 
trees,  through  whose  habitations  you  have  hitherto  found  only  silence  and  soli- 
tude." 

From  the  "  Pittsburg  Gazette,"  Jan.  12th,  1860. 

"  This  is  a  well-printed  and  well-arranged  book,  and  is  one  of  the  most  valuable, 
in  many  of  its  aspects,  of  any  that  has  fallen  under  our  notice.  All  persons  who 
make  trees  and  the  growth  of  vegetables  a  subject  of  delightful  study,  will  find 
this  work  just  to  their  mind.  It  is,  in  fact,  the  biography  of  a  tree,  the  laws  of 
its  growth  and  the  development  and  death  of  the  tree.  We  heartily  commend  this 
book  to  the  lovers  of  the  beautiful  in  nature,  and  to  those  who  love  a  somewhat 
original  view  of  an  old  subject.  Mr.  Coultas  is  agent  for  his  own  work,  and  will 
call  upon  the  people  to  present  before  them  its  claims." 

From  the  "Baltimore  Patriot,"  October  7th,  1859. 

rt  A  great  deal  may  be  learned  from  a  Tree,  as  Mr.  Coultas,  who  is  an  accom- 
plished Botanist,  has  shown  us  in  this  modestly-written  book.  All  men  who  un- 
derstand what  they  are  writing  about,  will  write  modestly.  Taken  as  a  whole,  we 
do  not  know  a  book  that  contains  so  much  interesting  matter  in  so  small  a  com- 
pass. It  is  exceedingly  suggestive,  and  no  man  can  rise  from  its  perusal  without 
acknowledging  he  has  been  in  the  company  of  a  judiciously  thinking  man." 

From  the  "  Baltimore  American,"  October  12th,  1859. 

"  What  may  be  learned  from  a  Tree  is  the  title  of  a  very  interesting  work  handed 
to  us  by  the  author.  It  is  a  close  and  minute  inquiry  into  the  mode  by  which 
vegetable  life  developes  itself  into  the  form  of  a  tree,  and  the  organization  of  the 
tree  itself  in  its  mature  stage.  The  investigation  and  close  attention  paid  to  the 
subject  are  carefully  and  lucidly  described,  and  the  reader  will  find  in  the  volume 
much  to  interest  him,  and  many  items  of  information  both  novel  and  striking. 
In  the  present  volume  Mr.  C.  shows  himself  to  be  not  only  a  lover  of  nature,  but 
a  moralist,  and  omits  no  opportunity  to  draw  a  parallel  between  the  various  stages 
of  vegetable  and  human  life.  His  conclusions  are  generally  such  as  all  will  admit 
to  be  correct,  proper  and  judicious,  both  in  a  moral  and  a  religious  point  of  view.rt 

From  the  "  Pittsburg  Dispatch,"  Jan.  10th,  1860. 

"Mr.  Coultas  is  evidently  an  enthusiastic  student  of  Nature — a  botanist  in  the 
higher  sense,  which  seeks  to  find,  beyond  mere  organic  forms,  general  and  culmi- 
nating laws.  It  is  a  little  work  full  of  information  on  what  at  first  thought  seems 
an  ordinary  subject ;  but  how  few,  even  among  the  more  intelligent,  understand 
the  economy  of  nature  as  displayed  in  the  vegetable  world." 


THE  PRINCIPLES  OP  BOTANY,  AS  EXEMPLIFIED  IN  THE  CRYPTOGAMIA  (with  Illus- 
trations) .     By  HARLAND  COULTAS.     In  one  volume.     Price  50  cents.     For  sale 
by  Lindsay  &  Blakiston,  25  South  Sixth  Street,  Philadelphia. 
Letters  and  other  communications  for  the  author  to  be  addressed  as  follows  : 

HARLAND  COULTAS,  Post-Office,  Philadelphia,  Pa, 


14  DAY  USE 

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PCTIIDM  in  rnnn 

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mi  LiDKAKi 

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BAR  5     1957 

,____  8     1979 

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